


A New Home - A DragonBall Z Fanficton

by melissa7613



Series: Clara Saga [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Anime, Bulma - Freeform, Dragon Ball Z - Freeform, Fanfiction, Frieza - Freeform, Gen, Manga, Original Character - Freeform, Planet Vegeta, Saiyans, Time Travel, dragon ball - Freeform, goku - Freeform, king vegeta - Freeform, super saiyans, trunks - Freeform, vegeta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:31:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 144,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7635109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissa7613/pseuds/melissa7613
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a mysterious girl comes crashing to Earth, nearly destroy West City, Vegeta can't help but feel uneasy about the situation - so uneasy that he feels to need to enlist Goku, his biggest rival, to help figure out who she is.  However, they soon find out that she's much more than just a mysterious girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clara Saga - Part One

 

**Part One: Help is on the Way**

**“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius**

 

“Mayday, mayday,” the voice in the speakers said, “decrease speeds, prepare for impact, mayday,” it repeated with alarms blaring.

“Shit,” a woman’s voice mumbled, “how far away from the surface am I?”  The voice came back over the speakers, “Prepare for impact in 60,000 feet.  Mayday.”  The inside was burning up.  It felt like she was inside of a volcano that was ready to explode.  She could hear the metal from the outside of her ship starting to tear away.  The grinding sounds of metal pulling from screws and bolts punctured her ears.  _How the hell am I going to survive this?  I’ve lost all control,_ she thought.  “Mayday, prepare for impact in 30,000 feet,” the voice said.  _Damn, I’m falling faster than I thought.  Maybe I deserve this.  I shouldn’t have messed with shit I know nothing about._ “Mayday, mayday.  Prepare for impact in 10,000 feet.  Reduce speeds.  Mayday,” the voice on the speakers said.  _That’s it.  There’s no way out of here.  I’ll be reduced to rubble.  I’ll be nothing more than a burned up corpse laying on a foreign planet in the middle of nowhere.  I can already feel the fire as it engulfs my body._ Tears began to run down her face, and she began to brace herself for the impact that the Earth would have on her ship.  “Brace for impact.  Impact in 6…5…4…3…2…1...” 

            As she hit the ground she could feel her ship give way out from underneath her.  She felt the metal tear apart, and she heard the grinding sound on the concrete.  She felt her skin begin to tear and bleed.  She felt the bones in her arms and legs break into pieces, and she could feel the heat of the dark concrete on her torn skin.  It felt as if someone were holding a piece of iron with a flaming tip to her skin – much like being branded.  She tried to let out a blood curling scream, but it was no use.  _Why can’t I make a sound?  I can’t breathe…I can’t scream…I…can’t keep my eyes open.  I can’t move,_ she thought.  Her eyes began to close and her breathing shallowed.  A few minutes later, she found herself drifting in and out of consciousness.   

The sirens.  They’re loud.  The ringing.  It hurt.  The ground.  It burned.  She couldn’t see anything except for the bright white light that seemed to be blinding her.  She could only hear what sounded like voices yelling off in a distance and screeching vehicles attempting to stop.  She could feel the vibrations of people running towards her and the blood running down her face, arms, and legs as she laid there on the ground.  _What the hell is going on?  Where the hell am I?_ she thought to herself.  “We need medics here ASAP!  I have a 10-33 at the corner of 22nd and Rian!” She heard someone say.  She tried to lift her head to see who was talking, but it was no use; her body wouldn’t move.  She felt like she had a pile of bricks sitting on top of her.  “Did anyone copy?  We need medics!  We have a 10-33!  I repeat, we have an emergency!” She heard the voice say again.  This time, it was much more aggressive and loud.  “Ma’am, I need you to open your eyes,” a man said as he knelt down to her.  As she forcibly made her eyes open, she could see that it was a police officer.  “I need you to try to keep your eyes open.  I’m trying to get medics here as fast as possible,” he said.  He reached over to his left shoulder and grabbed the radio sitting on his collar bone.  He began screaming into the radio.  “DAMMIT!  WHERE ARE MY MEDICS?!”  About ten seconds later, a reply came over the radio, “Copy that.  ETA ten minutes.”

 _Thank God,_ she thought to herself.  She was in so much pain that she couldn’t even feel it.  She knew something was terribly wrong.  As her vision became more focused, she could see the face of the police officer.  He looked worried and impatient.  “The medics are on their way,” he said to her.  “I need you to keep your eyes open.  Don’t go to sleep on me,” he pleaded.  She was trying her hardest to stay awake, but staying awake seemed like an impossible task.  She tried to embrace the heat of the black concrete underneath her body so that she couldn’t close her eyes.  “I’m officer Cory Yielder.  What’s your name?”  She knew that he was trying to talk to her so that she would stay awake, but she couldn’t get the words to come out of her mouth.  Instead, what came out was a quiet gasp for air.  “It’s alright.  Don’t try to speak.  Just keep your eyes open.  They should be here any minute now.”  He grabbed for his radio again, “What’s your ETA?”  A voice from the other side of the radio replied within seconds, “10-23.  I repeat.  We are here.”

            “It’s about time,” the officer said to the medics as they rushed over, “she’s been here for at least fifteen minutes.  No movement.  She’s unable to speak.  Serious injuries to face, arms, legs, and back,” he explained.  The medics knelt down to her and touched her neck and wrist.  “She’s got a weak pulse.  We have to rush her to the ER,” one medic said to the other.  “Ma’am, please don’t move.  We are going to get you out of here and get you some help,” he said.  _Yes.  Please.  Do whatever.  Please just get me some help,_ she thought.  A few seconds later, another medic came rushing over with a long, orange, board-type looking thing.  They slid the board under her and rose her up out of the burning street.  They took her and put her into the back of a white cube looking vehicle.  It had flashing lights on the back of it and what seemed to be medical equipment in the inside.  She was put into the back of the vehicle and the doors were closed.  There were two people in the back with her.  They began hooking her up to bags of fluid and other types of medical equipment.  The sirens kicked on and they began moving. 

            “You’ve got some pretty nasty injuries,” one medic said to her, “you’ll be just fine though, we’re taking you to the best hospital in the city.”  She hoped to God that he was right.  “Shut up Greg, you’re going to scare her!”  It was a female voice.  She was the medic on the other side of her. 

“How?  I just told her that she’s going to the best hospital and that she’ll be fine,” he replied.  “You shouldn’t have talked about her injuries,” she said harshly, “I apologize for him.  My name is Lilly.  That there is Greg.  We are going to keep you company while we head to the hospital.  Make sure you keep your eyes open,” she said to her in almost a motherly voice.  She was older.  Maybe in her 40’s.  After what seemed like hours, they came to a stop and the sirens shut off.  She was taken out of the back of the vehicle and rushed inside a building.  The doors were gray and the entire inside of the building was white.  It smelled like sickness.  She was rushed down a hallway where a man dressed in green scrubs and a woman dressed in white scrubs met up with the medics carrying her.

“Female.  Early 20’s.  Serious injuries to the face, arms, legs, and back.  Unable to speak,” Greg said to the two.  She was taken into a gray room with a steel table and a bright light above it.  There was medical equipment on both sides of her, and a gas mask that smelled like rubber and chemicals was placed over her nose and mouth.  About 30 seconds later, it was all dark.


	2. Clara Saga - Part Two

**Part Two: Awake**

**“Sometimes, opening your eyes is the most painful thing you’ll ever have to do.”- Unknown**        

 

Her eyes weren’t closed for very long.  It felt like seconds, but she knew it had been longer.  She was in a bed in a room.  The walls were white, the floor was tile, and she had a blue blanket covering the top of her.  She was able to open her eyes for a little bit, but they were too heavy to keep open. 

            “Yeah, she’s going to need a long time to recover fully,” she heard someone say, “she had some pretty serious injuries.  She had serious cuts and bruises on her arms, legs, back, and face.  She had a punctured lung, cracked spine, broken nose, and internal bleeding into her abdomen.”  It was a doctor.  She opened her eyes to see him standing in the doorway of her room talking to a nurse. _Great,_ she thought sarcastically to herself as she closed her eyes again, _at least I’m not dead though.  Maybe someone is looking out for me._   She opened her eyes again, but this time eye contact was made with the doctor. 

            “Well, good morning there,” he said, “my name is Doctor Uling, how are we feeling?”  He walked over to look at the beeping monitors that were hooked up to her.  “You gave us quite the scare; it’s a miracle you are still alive.” 

 _Yeah, because that’s what you want to tell someone as soon as they wake up in a strange place with serious injuries,_ she said in her head.  The doctor pulled up a rolling chair and sat to the left of her.  “I’m not going to lie, you had a punctured lung, a cracked spine, a broken nose, and some internal bleeding.  Also, some pretty serious cuts and bruises.”  _Does he think I’m deaf?  I heard all this already._ “We were unable to find you in any of our data bases.  Do you mind if I ask your name?”  She went to open her mouth to tell him her name.  _Shit,_ she thought to herself, _what the hell is my name?  How the hell could I have forgotten my own name?  Come to think of it, I can’t remember anything.  I remember the crash and the sirens and the heat and the traffic stopping._ She looked around the room with her heavy eyes and looked towards the doctor.

“I…I don’t…remember…” she said quietly.  Doctor Uling looked at her with a concerned look.

“Do you remember how you got here?”

“Crash.  I remember a crash.  Sirens.  Heat.  Traffic,” she said tiredly. 

“Is that all you can remember?”

“Yeah.”

He walked over to the table by the door and grabbed a small cup with pills in it and a cup of juice. 

“You may have what is called Retrograde Amnesia,” he handed her the two cups, “it’s where you forget certain things that occurred before a traumatic event,” he explained, “sometimes people can recover their lost memories, but sometimes they can’t.”  She looked at him with her eyes filled with worry, “We are going to do everything we can to help you recover as quickly as possible.  You have nothing to worry about.”  She looked at the cups that had just been handed to her.  “One is an antibiotic and the other is a pain killer,” he said.  She took both of them, drank the juice, and then handed the empty cups back to him.  _Maybe if I close my eyes and go to sleep, I’ll wake up and this will all be just a dream,_ she thought.  “I’ll let you get some rest,” Doctor Uling said, “we will talk some more when you’re rested.”  She closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.


	3. Clara Saga - Part Three

 

**Part Three: Aftermath**

 

**“Don't you dare underestimate the power of your own instinct.” – Barbara Corcoran**

 

Miles away from the hospital, there was a spectacle unfolding back at the crash site.  Crime scene tape, black SUVs, and men and women dressed in black suits surrounded the ship that had crashed. 

            “As you can see, there has been severe damage caused to the roadway,” a news reporter said into a television camera, “officials are urging everyone to stay inside and off the roads.  I’m told that there will be a conference held at 6:30 tonight with the world leaders.  I’m Taylor Greg for ZTV.  Please stay tuned.”  A few hours later, a television was turned onto ZTV.  Someone was impatiently awaiting that press conference.  At 6:30, the ZTV breaking news screen came up on the huge screen.  It was split into four squares.  On the top left was Eihei Taicho. He was the leader of the royal military.  On the top right was the director of SAS (Space and Alien Studies).  His name was Dr. Hank Leroy.  On the bottom left was Beth Zoosman, the head of public relations for the secret service.  Finally, on the bottom right was Carter Hyling, the mayor of West City.

            “This whole spectacle has caused nothing but chaos and disorder,” Beth Zoosman started off.  “How do we know that this thing that crashed on our planet isn’t some alien that was sent here to destroy us?  How do we know that this couldn’t have been prevented by SAS if they had been doing their jobs?”

“Beth, SAS is not liable for being on the lookout for invaders.  SAS is responsible for gathering evidence, studying it, and comparing it to Earth,” Dr. Hank Leroy rebutted, “how do we know that this isn’t a cover up by the secret service?”

“The secret service does more than its share to make sure that the citizens of this country and world are kept safe.  If we damage the trust between the secret service and the citizens, more harm will be done than good.  The secret service would not keep anything from the citizens it tries to protect,” Beth insisted.

“Commander Taicho, why didn’t the royal military move in on this thing when it first crashed and was injured?  Did King Furry order you off of it?”

“The royal military never received an order for it, Beth.”  At this point the mayor decided to cut in.

“So far, no harm has come to any of our citizens, and this creature doesn’t seem to pose any immediate harm.  For God’s sake, the officer and paramedics said that it doesn’t even know its name.  My main concern at this moment is how are people going to get where they need to be if the roads are going to continue to be blocked off and inaccessible?”

All four of the delegates began to talk and yell over each other in an unintelligible way.

“Pathetic,” a man scoffed as he clicked off the television and got up.  A woman came from the next room.

“What’s pathetic?” she said.  “Does it have something to do with that crash?”

“I was trying to see what kind of ship it was but they had it covered up, and those pathetic humans are trying to make sense of something that they can’t see either,” he said.  “I have to know what’s going on.”  He began to walk over to the window and start to climb out of it.  “Wait,” the woman said as she grabbed his arm.  He looked at her with an aggravated face.  “Trunks’ football game is tomorrow afternoon.  Please be there,” she said quietly.  “Fine.”  He jumped out the window and flew off into the direction of the mountains.  _I have to find out what’s going on.  I can’t shake this feeling that something is off.  As much as it pains me to admit, I can’t do it alone.  Kakarot, you’d better be home,_ He thought.


	4. Clara Saga - Part Four

 

**Part Four: We Need Answers**

 

**"Truth searches for no one.  It waits to be found." - Suzy Kassem**

 

 _Where the hell is he?_ The man thought.  “Hey, Kakarot!” He yelled, “I know you’re here.  Come out!”  A woman stuck her head out the window, “What the hell Vegeta?!  We’re trying to have dinner here!”

“I have more important things to worry about than your stomachs.  Where’s Kakarot?” 

The woman turned her head back inside the house and yelled, “Goku!  Your stupid, arrogant friend wants to see you!”  An aggravated look came across his face.

The door began to open.

“Gosh, I’m right here.  What’s all the yelling for?  Is something wrong?”  He came out rubbing the back of his head, and had a worried look on his face.

“I’m not sure yet,” Vegeta said as he stood towards Goku with his arms crossed.

“Then why did you come all the way out here?  That’s about a 500-mile fly.”

“I need your help,” he muttered under his breath.

“What?”

“I need your help,” he muttered a little louder.

“I can’t hear you, you’re going to have to speak up.”

“I NEED YOUR HELP!” He yelled.  Immediately turning red in the face and turning away.

“You need my help?  With what?”  Goku was more curious than ever.

“Come.  We need to go back to West City,” Vegeta said in a calmer voice.

“Okay, just let me say bye to Chi Chi and Goten.”

“Hurry up.”

After Goku said bye to Chi Chi and Goten, the two began flying back towards where Vegeta lived, Capsule Corporation.  On the way, Vegeta explained everything that had happened, well, everything he knew that had happened.

“So there was a crash?”

“One that almost destroyed the entire main street through West City,” Vegeta explained.

“Wow.  I bet they’re really strong!”  Goku suddenly got excited at the thought of a strong enemy.

“They’re not.  They’ve been taken to the hospital.  It’s only a matter of time until everyone figures out which room.”

“Woah.  They must have been really hurt,” Goku said, “do you think they’re okay?”

“I’m not sure.  I told you everything I know.”

“Why does it bother you so much?  I mean, why are you going through all this trouble?”

“Something’s off about this whole situation.  I can’t shake this feeling in my stomach,” Vegeta explained, “I have to figure out who they are and why they’re here.”  The two landed in front of Vegeta’s house, Capsule Corporation.  They walked through the front doors of the building and were greeted by Vegeta’s young son, Trunks.

            “Dad, what’s going on?  Did something happen?  Mom told me that you were angry,” he started.

“Why are you still awake.  It’s almost 3 AM?”

“Because I wanna be part of whatever is going on,” Trunks pleaded.

“No.  I don’t even know what’s going on,” Vegeta explained, looking down at his son with his arms crossed.

Trunks pondered for a minute.  “It has something to do with that crash doesn’t it?!”  Trunks’ eyes lit up and he began to get excited.  “Ah man!  I knew it!  Come on, we have to figure out what’s going on!”

Vegeta got an angry look on his face.  “No.  Now, go to bed,” he demanded.

Trunks scoffed and turned around and headed back to his room.  _That kid is too much like me,_ Vegeta thought as he watched his son walk away.

“Haha,” Goku laughed.

Vegeta looked over his right shoulder to him.  “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just funny seeing you actually be a parent.  I’m quite impressed,” Goku said while grabbing Vegeta’s right shoulder.  Vegeta pulled away and scoffed.  The two turned left and entered a giant living room.  Goku sat down on the couch and Vegeta went to stand over by the window, “So, how do we figure out who this person it?  Do you have a plan?” Goku questioned.

“No,” Vegeta replied, looking out the window towards the lights of West City.

“Hmm,” Goku mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head, “I know!  How about we go to the hospital and just ask them!”  Goku said as he stood up and got excited.

Vegeta looked at him with a look of disbelief.  “Idiot!  Do you not realize that the SAS is probably locking down the entire room, if not the entire hospital, in order to keep them away from the government?  We’d never get in there.”  _Why did I enlist the help of this giant clown?  What were you thinking, Vegeta?_

Goku sat back down on the couch in disappointment and stared at the floor for a few minutes.

“Wait!  I know!”

“What is it now?”

Goku walked over to Vegeta with a full head of confidence.  “I bet they’re not guarding the windows.  Why don’t we just figure out which room they’re in, fly up to their window, and ask them to let us in?”

“Yes, because any sane person is going to let two people floating outside their window into their room.  Makes total sense,” Vegeta replied.

“Well, I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas.”

_Damn.  He’s right.  Maybe it’s the best idea we can come up with.  I don’t care what it takes.  I WILL find out who is in that room._

“Fine.  Let’s go.”

“Wait,” Goku said, “right now?”

“Yes right now.”

The two began to walk out of the living room and back towards the front door.  On a table to the right of the doorway sat a note.  Vegeta looked at it before walking out.  “Vegeta, please don’t forget Trunks’ football game tomorrow.  He really wants you to be there.  I love you.  Love, Bulma,” the note read.  He quickly took the note and put it into his pocket before Goku could notice it was even there.  They took off into the sky towards the hospital.  Both remained quiet during their flight, yet they were both hopeful in their own heads.

 _Man I hope that whoever this is, is really strong!  I could use a new sparring partner!_ Goku thought.  _Vegeta’s always such a jerk._

 _Finally, I’ll be able to find out who this is.  Were they sent here to destroy us and failed, or are they just an alien who ended up crash landing on our planet?_ Vegeta thought.

The two landed in front of the hospital.  As Vegeta thought, it was being put under lock and key by the SAS.  “Great,” he said.

“How are we going to get inside?” Goku asked.

“They can’t stop us from going inside,” Vegeta said.  Vegeta balled up his right hand into a fist and caught Goku with a right hook to the nose.

“Ah!  What the hell did you do that for?!” Goku yelled as he held his nose.

“Now we have a reason to enter,” Vegeta said with a smirk on his face.

“Still.  You didn’t have to bust my nose just to get us inside.”

“Would you shut up already?  Just take one of those Senzu Beans after we get inside.”

“I can’t,” Goku said with a stern look, “Korin hasn’t grown any in a while because we haven’t had to need them,” he held his nose a bent over.  “I think you broke it!” he yelled.

 _Haha.  I get to figure out who this invader is AND bust Kakarot in the nose,_ Vegeta thought as he smirked.  The two walked towards the front door that was heavily guarded by SAS agents.  Goku was holding his nose with his right hand and Vegeta was leading him.

“Hold it,” one of the agents said.  His name tag said his name was Mark Banner.  He held his hand out; the international signal for ‘stop’.

“He’s got a broken nose.  He needs to get it looked at,” said Vegeta.

“Yeah, broken nose,” Goku said as he glared at Vegeta.

“Alright.  Go ahead,” said Agent Banner.  The two agents unlocked the sliding glass door, and they began to walk inside.

“See?  Piece of cake,” Vegeta said.

“Maybe for you,” Goku said sounding annoyed.

“Oh get over it already.  You said you’d help me.  Besides aren’t you always willing to do whatever is needed to be done?” Vegeta asked.  Goku looked at him with his hand still covering his nose.  “Fine,” he mumbled in reply. 

            Goku and Vegeta walked up to a desk with a man behind it.  To the left and right were empty waiting areas.  “My friend here has a broken nose,” Vegeta started, “he needs to get it looked at.  The man behind the desk looked up at the two men with a bored look on his face.

“Fine,” he said, “fill these out.”  He handed Goku a clipboard and a pen.  The two walked over to the right side waiting room and filled out the forms.

“You’re going to have to fill it out,” Goku said.

“Why me?  It’s your face.”

Goku took his hand off his face and they both saw that it was covered in blood. “Because,” he said.

“Fine.  Give me the stuff.”  Goku handed him the forms and pen and walked off to the bathroom.  “I’m gonna go see if I can stop some of the bleeding,” Goku said as he got up.

“You’re a Saiyan, don’t be such a wimp.”

 _What the hell kind of questions are these?_ Vegeta thought.

Reason for visit: “Broken nose,” Vegeta wrote.

Name: “Kakarot”

How did the incident occur?: _Haha,_ Vegeta thought.  “Jumped by a group of girls,” he wrote

Species: _Huh?  Well, I guess with all the strange aliens who have come here, this one is a given._ “Human.”

Vegeta finished filling out the forms and walked it up to the man behind the desk. 

“Thank you.  Please stay seated over there.”  After a few minutes, Goku walked out of the bathroom and back over to where Vegeta was sitting.  His nose had stopped bleeding, but it was still visibly broken.  Vegeta smiled as Goku walked over.  “Nice nose plugs,” he said, pointing out the toilet paper that Goku had stuffed up his nose.  Goku took his seat next to Vegeta.

“Have you come up with a plan yet?” A nasally Goku said.

“Maybe.”

Vegeta watched the man behind the desk as he typed up the information that he had written on the forms.  _He’s putting the information that I wrote down into the computer.  My guess is they had to do the same thing when they brought that person in.  “Name”.  One of the questions asked for a name._ Vegeta thought back to the news conference that he had watched.  _That self-centered mayor said that they didn’t know their name.  They will either be entered as a John Doe or a Jane Doe._

“Vegeta, I have a question,” Goku said, pulling Vegeta out of his train of thought.

“What is it?”

“Why is all this necessary?  I mean, why did I have to get a broken nose?”

“It’ll help us figure out which room this person is in.”

“How?”

“See the man behind the desk?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s putting the information that I wrote down into the computer.”

“Right.”

“So, they must have had to enter the information for the person when they brought them in.”

“I don’t get where you’re going with this.”

“After he’s finished entering the information off of the forms, he will lead you back to the doctor.  At that moment, I’ll jump behind the counter and get onto the computer.  Because an emergency can come in at any time, the hospital staff can’t afford to close the registration.  I’ll write down all the rooms that could be a possibility, and then once you’re back out, we’ll go see which room is most heavily guarded with SAS agents, leave the hospital, and finally fly up to the window of the room.  Idiot.”

Goku sat and looked at Vegeta in awe. 

“Kakarot?” the man behind the desk said.  Goku looked at Vegeta.

“Right here,” Goku said. 

“Alright sir, if you’ll follow me, Doctor Hayler will see you now.”

The man got up from his desk and walked to the end to meet with Goku.  He had the clipboard in his hand.  The two walked through steel double doors.  _Now’s my chance,_ Vegeta thought.  Vegeta waited until the two walked through the double doors and got to the end of the hallway.  _I don’t have much time._ He quickly jumped behind the desk and got onto the computer.  _Just as I thought, he left the registration open._ He found the patient lookup, and quickly typed in first name: John and last name: Doe.  Two results popped up.  He wrote down the room numbers.  Room 256 and Room 182.  Next, he typed in first name: Jane and last name: Doe.  Three results popped up.  He wrote down Room 645, Room 102, and Room 712.  _Alright, time to go sit back down._ He exited out of the patient lookup, grabbed the piece of paper he had written on, and sat back down.  About two minutes later, the man came back and sat behind the desk.

“Do you know how long he will be back there?” Vegeta asked.  The man sat with his head looking down at his desk as if he were on his cellphone.

“I don’t know.  Probably no more than an hour.”

_An hour?  Come on.  It wasn’t that bad.  I’m not going to sit by and wait.  I’ll go find the room myself._

“I’m gonna go take a walk.  It’s been a very traumatic night for us,” Vegeta said.

“Have fun.”

 _That guy is not very enthusiastic.  I mean, I wouldn’t be either if I had to deal with complaining humans on a daily basis._ Vegeta got up and began to walk around the hospital.  He went through the double doors opposite that Goku had gone through.  _Those must be examination rooms back there, not patient rooms.  Alright, first up is Room 102.  Jane Doe.  Could this person be a woman?_ Vegeta began walking and came across Room 102 on his left.  _No agents outside.  This can’t be it.  Okay, next is 182.  This one has to be it.  John Doe.  A man.  Only a man could survive a crash of that magnitude._ He came across room 182.  _Dammit, no agents._ He peered inside.  _He’s just an old decrepit human.  Room 256.  Next floor up._ Vegeta walked towards the elevator and pressed the number 2 button and went up to the second floor.  As he stepped off the elevator he saw a sign posted with an arrow pointing to the left with the numbers 200-240 and an arrow pointing right with the numbers 241-270.  _Right._ He walked to the right and soon came across Room 256.  _Shit.  No agents._   _Room 645 is next._ He walked back into the elevator and pressed the number 6 button.  He walked off the elevator and saw another sign with arrows.  Left was 600-640 and right was 641-670.  He walked to the right and saw four agents standing outside a room that was three rooms away from the elevator on the right.  _641…643…645.  That’s it.  Room 645.  It has to be._ He turned around and walked back into the elevator and pressed the button for the main floor.  As he walked down the hallway back towards the waiting room, he began to think.  _Really?  A Jane Doe?  A WOMAN?  How the hell could a WOMAN survive that?  This doesn’t make sense.  I feel more uneasy than before.  Come on Vegeta!  Get yourself together._ He opened the double doors that led into the waiting room and he went back to the same seat he had been sitting in before.  _Come on Kakarot.  Hurry up._  


	5. Clara Saga - Part Five

 

**Part Five: Who Are You?**

 

**"When everything in a magic trick**

**Is an illusion**

**Then how can we say**

**That life isn't a delusion?"**

**\- Mercury Chap**

 

When she woke up again, it was dark outside.  _How long was I out?_ She thought to herself.  She laid there in the bed and tried her hardest to remember at the very least, her own name.  _How can someone forget their name?  How old am I?_ She looked to the right and saw the lights of the city that she had crashed in.  _Did I hurt anyone?  How bad did I hurt them?  Where did I even fall from?_ Tears began to fill her eyes as the thoughts coursed through her head.  _What if I never remember?_ Her head felt like it was going to explode.  _Did anyone come visit me?_ She turned her head towards the tables on either side of her and saw no evidence of visitors.  _Do…I even have anyone?  WHO THE HELL AM I?!_ After what felt like an eternity, Doctor Uling came in.

            “I’m glad to see you’re awake,” he said, “how about we pick up where we left off?”

“Yeah,” she said.  _What other bad news is he going to tell me?_ she wondered.

“As you know, my name is Doctor Uling; however, I’m not a normal doctor,” she looked at him with a puzzled face, “I don’t work for this hospital.  In fact, I work for an organization called SAS.  Have you ever heard of them?”  He pulled up the rolling chair and sat by her bed again just like before.

“SAS?  What is SAS?” she questioned.

“I’ll take that as a no.  SAS is an organization that studies space and aliens.  It stands for Space and Alien Studies,” he explained.

“Space and aliens?  Then aren’t you supposed to be looking through a telescope or something?  Why are you here?”

“Based on the ship you crashed in, we have reason to believe that you aren’t from this planet.”

She was taken back.  _What the hell does this guy mean?  Aliens don’t exist._

“That’s not possible,” she said, “everyone knows that aliens are just myths.”

He looked at her with a half-smile, “How would you know?  You don’t even know your own name.”

_Damn.  He’s right.  I don’t know my own name._

“So why are you here?”

“We’re here to protect you from people who want to harm you.  Bad people who don’t understand what you are.”

 _I don’t even understand what I am,_ she thought.

“We have SAS agents posted outside your door to make sure no one can get to you.  Once you’re healed, we will transfer you to our facility where you will be taken good care of.  For now, you need your rest.”  He walked over to the same table as before and grabbed the cup of juice and the cup of pills.  He handed them to her and she took the pills, drank the juice, and handed them back to him.  _People out to get me?_ She thought.  _Could he just be delusional?  There’s no way aliens exist.  Then again, what would I know?  Perhaps,_ she thought, _perhaps, I’m the one who is delusional._ She drifted off into a deep sleep in a matter of minutes.

 

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." - Aldous Huxley

 

“Thanks again doc!” Goku yelled as he walked back through the double doors. 

“About time,” Vegeta said as he stood up, “let’s get out of here, I found our person.”  The two began walking through the front doors.

“I thought you said we were going to do this together?”

“I got sick of waiting for you so I went to find their room…or more like HER room.”

Goku stopped in his tracks, “HER?!  THE INVADER IS A HER?!” Vegeta slapped him in the back of the head, “KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN OR I’LL REBREAK YOUR NOSE!” he said in a low yell.

“Jeez, sorry.  I was just excited,” Goku said as he rubbed his head.  The two continued to walk out of the door, “but seriously?  A girl?”

“Mhmm.”

“So where is she?”

They walked out of the door and turned left.  As they walked down the side walk, Vegeta stopped at the 3rd window and pointed at the 6th floor.  “There,” he said, “Room 645.”

“What do you propose we do?” Goku asked.

“Follow me.”

The two waited until the sidewalk was clear and there was little traffic in the street and then began to float up to the window Vegeta pointed out.  When they peered inside, they saw her.  She was fast asleep and wrapped in bandages.

“Wow,” Goku said, “I wonder who she is.”

“Or what she is,” Vegeta quickly said.

“What’re we going to do?  Break into her room?”

“No.  It’ll scare her and she’ll most likely start screaming.  It’ll draw the attention of the four agents posted outside her door.”

“Shoot,” Goku said, snapping his fingers, “I really wanted to meet her.”

“We will.  The sun’s about to come up.  Let’s get out of here.”

The two rose past the window and above the building and began to head back to Capsule Corp.  A few minutes later, they arrived at the front entrance.

“Oh, by the way,” said Goku, “jumped by a group of girls?  Really?”

Vegeta smirked as he remembered what he had written down on the forms.

“You can sleep in one of the guest rooms, they’re upstairs.”  Vegeta turned away from Goku and began walking down the hallway to the right going towards his and Bulma’s room.  Goku walked to the left through the living room and up the stairs and found an empty guest room.

As Goku lays in bed, he wonders what and who that girl is.  _Is she from another planet?  Is she evil?  Is she nice?  Why is Vegeta so obsessed with finding out who she is?  I don’t understand what his deal is._

            The next morning, as the sun was almost at noon, Vegeta woke up to a loud bang in the kitchen.  Noticing that Bulma wasn’t by his side, he rushed down to the kitchen to find a hungry Goku making a mess of the kitchen.

“Kakarot!  What the hell are you doing?!” he yelled, clearly annoyed.

“It’s almost lunch and I haven’t eaten all day!  Usually Chi Chi cooks for me, but my stomach is about to eat itself!”

Vegeta rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the sliding glass door that led from the kitchen to the backyard.  Outside was Bulma talking on the phone.  She looked rather angry.  After a few minutes, she threw the phone to the ground and slammed the sliding glass door open.  Goku and Vegeta both looked at her in curiosity.

“Something wrong, Bulma?” Goku questioned.

Vegeta looked at him and scoffed, “Clearly there’s something wrong.  What is it?”

“IT’S THOSE DAMN SAS AGENTS!” she yelled.

“SAS?  What do they want?” Vegeta asked.

“That person who crashed the other day.  They wanted to dump them on me and help them figure out what they are.”

“Her,” Vegeta said, “they’re a girl.”

Bulma walked over to Vegeta, “And how exactly would you know that?”

Goku began to get a grin on his face, “We may have snuck into the hospital, hacked the patient info, and found what room she was in, hehe.”  Vegeta glared at Goku.  Goku continued to touch his two index fingers together, keep his eyes closed, and keep a grin on his face.

“YOU WHAT?!” Bulma yelled, “ARE YOU CRAZY?!”

“Oh relax,” Vegeta said, “now everything just got a lot easier.  You did tell them to bring her here right?”

Bulma looked around the room as if she was looking for someone to give her an answer.

“Uh, no…” she said, “I told them ‘no’.  And maybe I would have told them ‘yes’ if I didn’t have a million other things to do!  I don’t have time to analyze a being from space!  If you helped out a little more with Trunks, then maybe I would have more time on my hands.  I barely have enough time to keep up with work as it is!”

Goku and Vegeta stood there with looks of disbelief.

“So what’re they going to do to her?” Goku asked.

“They’ll take her somewhere else and have her analyzed.  It’s not our problem anymore.  Stay out of it.”

“Hang on,” Vegeta said, “why would they take her somewhere and have her analyzed?  Isn’t it their job to study space and aliens?  Why wouldn’t they do it themselves?  Why come to you?”

“I don’t know.  Not my problem anymore.  You need to get ready.  Trunks’ game starts in two hours.  I promised him you’d be there.”


	6. Clara Saga - Part Six

**Part Six - SAS?**

**"Three things cannot be long hidden; the sun, the moon, and the truth" - Buddha**

 

“And ANOTHER touchdown scored by West City!” the announcer yelled over the loudspeaker, “West City is on fire today as the score is 13-5!”  
Vegeta, who was forced by Bulma to go to Trunks’ game stood next to Goku at the fence that was furthest away from the bleachers yet close enough to see the field.  Both men stood leaned over with their arms crossed over the fence.  To the right were the bleachers where Bulma and all the other parents were watching the game and cheering on their kids.  Behind Goku and Vegeta was an old man walking his dog, a woman jogging, and some kids riding their bikes on the sidewalk.  They were both looking at the field, and watching the game, but neither one was actually paying attention.  
            _SAS?_ Vegeta thought.  _Why the hell would SAS take her to someone else to have her analyzed?  That’s their sole purpose of existing.  They’re the ones who analyze foreign beings.  What’s their game?_  
“So what’s up with this SAS thing?” Goku questioned, “I’ve never even heard of them.”  
There was a moment of silence before Vegeta began to speak.  “After Buu was defeated, a group of astronomers, astronauts, and theorists came together and formed an organization that was dedicated to studying space and aliens that may invade Earth.  Whenever something strange happened, they were always the first ones to figure out what it was.  They possess multi-million dollar labs that are used for analyzing anything strange that falls to Earth,” Vegeta explained.  “That’s why I can’t figure out why they would contact Bulma and ask her to analyze the girl.”  
“Hmm,” Goku thought, “maybe she’s too complicated for them.”  
“Their main purpose for existing is to analyze foreign beings.  They should have no problem analyzing her.”  
Goku leaned back off the fence and crossed his arms, “So, if their job is to study space and aliens, why were they unable to tell when she was heading towards Earth?”  
Vegeta turned around and faced his back towards the field, “It’s not their job to prevent invasions.  It’s their job to analyze the invaders once they’re here.”   
He crossed his arms and closed his eyes and tried to come up with a logical explanation for why SAS would ask someone else to do their job.  
“There’s one thing that’s bothering me more than trying to figure out what SAS’s game is,” Goku said.  
“Hmm.”  
“Why are you so obsessed with all this?  Why do you care so much?”  
Vegeta opened his eyes but stayed turned around with his arms crossed, “I’ve already told you.  I don’t know.  Something is off.  I can feel it.”  
“And yet another touchdown for West City!  The score is now 16-5!” the announcer yelled again, “With only two minutes left, it looks like West City has this one in the bag!”  
Vegeta turned back around to look at the field.  Just before the two minutes were up, Trunks caught the ball, ran straight through the other team, and scored the final touchdown.  Bulma stood up in the bleachers and cheered loudly for her winning son, whilst Vegeta had a smirk come across his face, and Goku clapped his hands.  
            Trunks along with all the other children ran off the field and towards the bleachers to meet their parents.  Trunks met up with Bulma and received a hug from his mother.  The two began to walk over to Goku and Vegeta who were still standing by the fence.  Trunks eagerly ran up to the duo and grabbed his dad’s arm.  “Did you see that last touchdown?!  Man, I was on fire!” Trunks said excitedly.  
“Good job, son,” Vegeta said.  He held up his hand to high-five his son for a job well done.  Trunks let out a small laugh.  
“So,” Bulma said as she walked up to them, “did you guys finally decide to drop the whole alien situation?”  
Vegeta crossed his arms and looked at Bulma.  “Can you really sit there and tell me that it’s not just a _little_ bit strange that the SAS would contact someone else to do their work?”  
“Vegeta has a point, Bulma,” Goku began, “I’m also starting to think that -.” He was cut off by a furious Bulma, “I TOLD YOU GUYS TO DROP IT!  IT’S NOT OUR CONCERN!  CAN’T WE JUST HAVE NORMAL LIVES FOR ONCE AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT STRANGE ALIENS?!”  
Trunks looked down to the ground, Vegeta stayed staring at Bulma, and Goku had covered his ears.  Bulma closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  “What I mean is,” she began, “if the SAS finds out the husband of the heiress to the Capsule Corporation is involved in a huge scandal and possible downfall to their corporation, we will be ruined.  Please, let it go.  Let them do what they want with her.”  
            _Is she serious?  She can’t possibly be this self-centered.  There has to be another reason,_ Vegeta thought to himself.  
“She’s young,” Vegeta said.  
“And?” Bulma replied in an almost uncaring tone.  
“Late teens, early 20’s at most.”  
“Ok?  What are you getting at?” she said annoyed.  
“She’s someone’s daughter.  What if she was yours?”  
Goku looked up at Vegeta in shock.  _Why does he care so much about this girl?  I don’t understand one bit,_ he thought.  
“She’s not.”  Bulma grabbed his left shoulder and whispered, “why is this so important to you?” Vegeta looked over at her and pulled his shoulder away.  “I’m not explaining it again,” he said.  
            “Mom,” Trunks said, “I’m starving.”  He held his stomach as it began to growl.  
“Okay, son.  Let’s head home and I’ll cook you up something to eat,” Bulma replied in a caring tone.  “Goku, do you want to come over for lunch?”  
“Thanks for the offer Bulma, but I can’t.  Chi Chi is probably going to kill me for being gone this long,” Goku replied as he rubbed the back of his head and held a grin on his face.  “Well Vegeta, you know where to find me if you need me.  See ya.”  Goku held his index and middle finger to his forehead and was gone in a flash.  
“Well, I guess it’s just the three of us,” Bulma said.  The three turned towards the parking lot and began to walk towards the car.  Bulma was in front, Trunks was in the middle, and Vegeta was some feet away walking with his arms crossed.  
A few minutes later, the trio arrived in front of Capsule Corp.  Trunks was eager to bolt inside and go to the kitchen.  “Trunks!” Bulma yelled, “make sure you shower first.”  
“Will do, mom.”  
“I’ll start cooking up some hamburgers,” she said.  
Vegeta walked in behind his son and behind him was Bulma.  He walked straight to his gravity chamber and opened the door after pushing a series of numbers.  _What is SAS’s deal?  Why does Bulma feel so threatened by them?_ He thought as he walked toward the center column.  _I’ve got about an hour to train before she starts yelling, better hurry._ He quickly turned on the machine and set the gravity to 550x normal gravity.  _I’ve only got about an hour, might as well make it count,_ he thought.  An hour passed, and Vegeta turned off the machine and walked out towards the kitchen where Bulma had just finished making lunch.  
“Smells good,” he said as he sat down.  
“There’s only 12 burgers.  I hope you can Trunks can make it work,” she said with a laugh.  “Trunks!  Come eat!” she yelled upstairs.  Trunks came running flying down the stairs and quickly took the seat next to his father.  
“Thank you, mom!” he said with a mouth full of hamburger.  Bulma covered her mouth and laughed.  She grabbed a burger and sat down from across her husband and son.  The three continued to eat until all the burgers were gone.  Bulma had one, Vegeta had six, and Trunks had five.  
“Saiyans’ appetites will never cease to amaze me,” she said.  
Neither one of them replied to her.  “Hey dad,” Trunks said.  Vegeta looked up at him.  “Can we train tomorrow?  I wanna try 300x gravity.”  
“Sure thing,” Vegeta replied.  With that, Trunks ran off back up to his room to play a video game online with Goten.  Vegeta and Bulma sat on the couch and turned on the television.  
“The question on everyone’s mind is, ‘Who is this mysterious invader who crashed on our planet?’” the news anchor began talking, “I’m joined here with Dr. Hank Leroy, the director of the organization known as SAS.  Dr. Leroy, what is the purpose of continuing to fund a program dedicated to studying space and aliens yet fails to identify when an invader is coming?”  
“First off, Trisha,” Dr. Leroy began speaking to the news anchor, “it’s not SAS’s job to conclude when there is a threat to Earth.  The purpose of SAS is to analyze aliens and alien objects that come into our atmosphere.”  
“Then what is the point of taking millions of dollars from the hard working people of this country if SAS isn’t usual in preventing invasions?”  
“Let me make this clear,” Dr. Leroy began, “SAS does not receive donations from the people of this country.  SAS was invested in by a corporation that wished to remain anonymous.”  
Vegeta grabbed the remote and turned the television off.  He looked over to Bulma who was sitting to the left of him.  
“Don’t tell me,” he said, “you were the corporation that invested in them.”  
Bulma didn’t say a word, rather, she just looked at Vegeta.  
“Seriously?” he said.  “Why the hell would you invest millions of dollars into that corrupt organization?!”  
“Because!” Bulma yelled.  She quickly lowered her voice so that Trunks wouldn’t hear what was going on.  “Dr. Uling, the man who started SAS, convinced me to invest in SAS by telling me that it would help prevent further invasions.  He told me that after Cell was defeated, he and a group of his colleagues got together and decided that they wanted to help the planet stay safe from invaders, but then after the whole Buu drama, they realized that they didn't have enough money or resources to continue their research.”  
Vegeta looked at her in disbelief.  _Wait,_ he thought, _Kakarot used the dragon balls to erase Buu from everyone’s memories except for our families and friends._  
“How does he know about Buu at all?  Kakarot used the dragon balls to erase him from everyone’s memories except for our families and friends.  No one else should remember that.”  
“I asked him the same question.  He told me that he and his colleagues were given pills that restored their memories,” Bulma explained.  
“This is why you tried to talk me out of figuring out what was going on.  You were afraid to lose your investment.  You knew that if I figured out what was happening, I’d expose the truth behind SAS!”  
“I was trying to help, Vegeta,” Bulma retorted, “if I take my investment back, they’ll degrade my family name, and the media will be all over Capsule Corp.  And if you end up exposing them, they will release the investment information, and everyone will view Capsule Corp just as corrupt as they are.  Sales will drop.  Stocks will go down.  We will lose our own investors.  Just leave them the hell alone.  Let them do what they want to her and be done with it.”  
Vegeta let out a slight chuckle.  “Who are you?” 

 

 

 

 


	7. Clara Saga - Part Seven

**Part Seven - Make Our Move**

“Bulma did WHAT?!” Goku exclaimed, clearly taken aback. Vegeta sat next to him on the couch in Goku’s living room with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.  
“Mhmm,” he said.  
“So that’s why she didn’t want us interfering.”  
“She cares more about money and Capsule Corp than anything else,” Vegeta stated.  
“Well, Bulma has always loved money,” Goku pointed out, “but it’s weird for her to care this little about someone. That girl could be completely innocent.”  
“And now she will probably end up in the hands of the wrong people, and God only knows what’ll happen to her then.”  
Goku dropped his head and sat on the couch next to Vegeta.  
How could that woman do this? Vegeta thought. How could she be so selfish and put the life of someone who might be completely harmless and innocent at the feet of a corrupted organization? Why do I care so much? I have to get rid of this feeling. I have to.  
“I’m starting to worry,” Goku said.  
Vegeta looked over to him, “Then let’s stop sitting here feeling bad for her, and let’s do something about it,” Vegeta said. “Sitting here isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

 

**"The purpose of torture is not getting information - it's spreading fear." - Eduardo Galeano**

 

_What the…?_ She thought to herself as she slowly opened her eyes.  _What the hell?_ As she slowly began to open her eyes, they began to burn.  It felt as if someone had thrown salt into them.  The more she opened them, the more they burned and the more she could see the total darkness in front of her.  “What the hell is going on?”  She muttered to myself.  Instinctually, she went to move her hands to touch her face so that she could find out what was blocking her vision.  Only then did she notice that her arms were utterly useless.  Her adrenaline quickly kicked in and she began tossing around much like a freshly caught fish on a boat.  Once she began tossing around, she could hear them.  The chains.  The chains that were holding her arms above her head.  _What the hell is going on?  Where am I?_ After realizing that she wasn’t going to be able to break free, she calmed herself down.  _Maybe I’ll be able to hear someone or something if I listen close enough,_ she thought.  She began to rely on her hearing to help figure out where she was.  To the left she heard the sound of water slowly dripping.  _A sewer maybe?_ To the right, she heard some voices.  They were a mix of males and females.  As she began to listen closer, she could tell that they were walking towards her.  She wanted to open my mouth and scream for help, but then thought to herself, _why they would help me if they were the ones who had done this to me?_  
“…should be waking up now,” she heard one of the women say.  It sounded muffled, almost like she was behind a thick wall or door.  _I’m gonna take a guess and say she’s referring to me._ “Right.  Yes.  Yes, sir. I’m aware. I’ll keep you posted.”  
 _There’s no one talking back to her.  Maybe she’s on the phone.  Who could she be talking to?_  
She heard a heavy door open.  It was automatic and locked loudly when it slammed behind the woman walking towards her.  
“Well, well,” she said.  She could tell that she was standing in front of her, “Let’s start off with some introductions.  My name is Topil Agamari.  What’s yours?”  She knew that the first thing she said would set the stage for the rest of this experience.  Even though she couldn’t even remember her name, she could have said ‘I don’t know’ or changed the topic and asked where she was.  Instead, she kept her mouth shut.  “Not much of a talker, I see.  I get that.  Trust me,” she said with a slight chuckle, “I don’t like talking much either.”  
She walked over to her and grabbed the object blocking her view.  It was a blindfold.  “I guess you probably wanna see where you are, huh?”  As the blindfold was removed, she saw a sight that looked like it was straight out a horror film.  The walls were gray, cracked, and darkly stained in some areas.  The ground was gray, and it seemed to be rock.  To the left were two showers with white shower curtains.  _That explains the dripping,_ she thought.  The light hanging above her swung back and forth and looked as if it was about to go out.  To the right was a clear plastic-like container filled with a red fluid.  _Could that be…blood?_ From the container she followed a hose that went up the wall, up to the ceiling, and stopped where she was hanging.  It had a shower like nozzle that hung over my head.  _These people are sick.  What’re they going to do?  Soak me in blood?_ Finally, she looked straight ahead to the woman standing in front of her.  She was young.  Mid 30’s at most.  She had long black hair and bright purple eyes.  She was a fair build with medium sized breasts and hips.  She had a fair complexion, but seemed to wear a decent amount of makeup.  In front of her was a medical tray on wheels.  It contained many different types of sharp objects.  Needles, razor blades, knives, scissors.  You name it.  She pushed the tray to her left and began to walk towards her.  
“So, how do ya like it?” she said.  
She said nothing.  _What is she going to do to me?_ She thought.   
“Since I can tell that you’re not going to talk to me, I’ll do all the talking,” she paused for a moment.  “As I said earlier, my name is Topil Agamari.  I work for an organization known as SAS.  It stands for Space and Alien studies,” she said in a professional sounding voice.  _SAS?_ She thought. _SAS is behind this?  I thought they would have collected all the evidence they needed at the hospital._ “However,” she continued, “that’s what the public knows about us.  That sounded pretty professional right?  Believable?”  She smiled with an almost serious face.  “You, on the other hand, will know us as something completely different.  Well, it won’t actually matter that you’ll know because, well, how can I put this?  Because you won’t be coming out of this room alive.”  
Her eyes opened wide like a deer in the headlights.  _What the fuck?_ She thought to herself.  _What the actual fuck?_  
“You see,” she continued, “SAS is sick and tired of you stupid ass aliens coming to our planet.  I’d love to give you the long explanation about how and why you’re here, but I ain’t got time for that.  What I will tell you is that right now, you may not want to talk, but before I’m done with you, you’ll screaming louder than your lungs have ever let you scream.”  Her heart began to beat so fast that it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.  
“You may not have realized it yet, but your injuries from your crash are completely healed.”  She looked at what she could of her hanging body and realized that there were no cuts, no bruises and no broken bones.  _How did I not notice this before?  More importantly, how did this happen?_ She thought.  “Don’t ask how it happened, just be grateful that it did.” She gave out a slight chuckle, “actually, I’m the one who should be grateful.  The good doctor knows how I love a clean canvas to work on,” she gave her a wink and turned around back towards her medical tray with her hands behind her back.  As she got to the table, she kept her back towards her and picked up an object.  It was a needle with the same color fluid in the plastic-like container.  It was completely full.  She turned around to face her with the needle in her hand and squirted a tiny bit out of the top of it to indicate that it was ready to go.  
“Now,” she said as she walked towards the hanging girl, “I’ll ask you again.  What is your name?”  
 _If I answer, I give her the satisfaction of knowing that she made me talk.  If I don’t talk, it’ll aggravate her more.  Either way, I’m not going to make it out of here.  Might as well go out my way._  
“Still not going to talk, huh?”  She stared at the woman with the needle with cold eyes.  “Alright then.  You have it your way, and I’ll have it mine.”  
She took the needle and injected into the right side of the defenseless girl’s neck and into her jugular vein.  She winced at the pain of the needle breaking her skin.  She pushed the fluid out of the needle and into her vein.  A few seconds later she walked back to the table.  
“How about now?”  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in.  
 _Do not cry, do not scream, do not talk, do not give in._  
“Hmm.  I see.  Maybe some more convincing will do the trick?”  
She set the needle down on the table and looked around to find something else.  
“Aha,” she said with excitement, “this should do the trick!”  
She turned back around towards her and held the object behind her back so that it was out of her view.  _What the hell does she have now?_ She wondered.  She got close to her and a smile came across her face.  She pulled the object out from behind her back.  It was the sharpest knife that she had ever seen in my entire life.  Or rather what she could remember of her life.  
“Now,” she said, “if THIS doesn’t get you talking, then I quit.”  
 _Yeah right.  You’re going to kill me either way.  Doesn’t matter if I talk or not._  
The hanging girl looked at the woman and made a once over her hanging body as if to tell her to go on ahead.  “If you insist,” she said with a smirk.  She cut the girl’s shirt open as if she was demonstrating how sharp it was.  
“What.  Is.  Your.  Name?” she said, slowly making small cuts on her stomach between each word.  With each cut made into her skin, she held back a cry in pain.  She began to feel her blood trickle down into the pants that she was wearing.  _Where did these clothes come from?_ She thought, trying to distract herself.  
“Answer me you alien freak!”  
Another cut was slowly made into her stomach.  “Alright,” she said, “time to up the ante.”  She walked over to the girl’s left and made a deeper, longer cut into the underside of her upper arm, from her armpit to her elbow.  She screamed as loud as she could in her head and forced herself to hold back tears.  
 _Do not cry…_  
With that thought, the woman walked over to the other side and mimicked the same action into her right arm.  Again, she screamed as loud as she could in her head and fought back the tears.  
 _Do not scream…_  
She went around to her backside and cut my shirt open on her back.  
“WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!” she began to yell as she grabbed the fresh cut on the left arm from behind the hanging girl.  Again, she didn’t answer her.  “Fine!” she yelled.  She let go of her arm and made a deep, long cut diagonally through the girl’s left calf muscle.  Since she wasn’t in front of her anymore, she let out a silent scream while screaming loudly in her head.  She tightly closed my eyes to keep tears from coming out.  
 _Do not talk…_  
She quickly walked over to her other leg, grabbed the freshly cut arm, and asked the same question, “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!” she said even louder than before.  She let go of the arm again and made the same exact cut through the calf muscle.  Again, she let out a silent scream and held back tears.  
 _Do not…_  
Before she could get the complete thought through her head, she began making quick deep, long cuts down her back, focusing mainly on her shoulders.  
 _Give in…_  
With that last thought, her eyes began to close and all consciousness was lost.  At that point, she knew no one was going to save her. 

 

**"Perseverance is the act of true role models and heroes." - Liza M. Wiemer**   
  
  


“So what’s the plan this time?” Goku asked Vegeta as they stood in front of the same hospital that they had been to a couple of days earlier. Vegeta scanned the front doors.  
“The agents are gone,” he stated.  
“So does that mean I don’t have to get another broken nose?” Vegeta quickly moved his eyes over to look at Goku and looked back towards the door.  
“Let’s go.”  
The two began to walk through the front doors and saw a different person sitting behind the registration desk. She was young. Maybe late 20’s. She was leaning back in her chair and reading a magazine.  
“Can you tell me if the patient in Room 645 is still here?” Vegeta asked.  
She looked up at him from her magazine and gave a sigh. “Just a sec,” she said unenthusiastically. She began to click around on the computer and finally looked back up at the two men and told them, “Sorry. Not here.” She looked back down at her magazine.  
“Not here?” Goku asked. “What do you mean ‘not here’? She was severely injuried.”  
She stayed looking at her magazine, “I don’t know man, not here, sorry.”  
“Could they have moved her to another room?” Vegeta questioned.  
“Just a sec,” the worker said again. She grabbed the phone next to the computer and dialed a number. “Yeah, I have some people here who were wondering if a patient has been moved to a different room. Yeah, hang on one sec,” she covered up the mouth piece to the phone and looked up at Vegeta and Goku, “what’s their name?”  
Vegeta replied, “HER name was listed as Jane Doe.” She turned back around, “Yeah, she was listed as a Jane Doe. No? Alright, thanks.”  
She looked back up at Goku and Vegeta, “Sorry, not here.”  
“Great,” Vegeta said, “just great.”  
With the news that the Jane Doe was no longer in the hospital, the two walked back out of the doors.  
“Do you think those SAS people might have taken her?” Goku asked.  
“It sure is starting to look like that.”  
“What do you propose we do?”  
What could they have done to her? Vegeta thought. Why am I feel more uneasy than I was? What is this?  
“I say it’s time that Bulma makes up for what she did,” Vegeta said angrily.  
After I short flight back to Capsule Corp, both of them stormed through the front entrance.  
“Bulma!” Vegeta yelled, “Bulma where are you, woman?!”  
“Gosh, Vegeta. Do you have to yell so much?” Bulma replied while walking down the stairs while rubbing her head, “I have a major headache, stop yelling.”  
“I don’t care what you have because that girl that you refused to take from SAS is probably going through a lot more than your puny insignificant headache!” he replied.  
Bulma yawned, “what are you talking about, Vegeta?”  
“Bulma, that girl is gone from the hospital and the agents that were posted there are gone, too,” Goku replied for Vegeta.  
Bulma instantly perked up, “you guys went back?! I thought I told you to stay out of it?! You have no idea what you’re going to do to Capsule Corp!”  
“Do you really not care about someone who could potentially be completely innocent?” Vegeta asked.  
“I care about my business, and about keeping a steady income for me, you and our son,” she said sternly.  
“But Bulma,” Goku started.  
“Don’t ‘but, Bulma’ me, Goku,” she replied, angrily.  
“She could be in some serious trouble,” he continued.  
“What do you expect me to do about it anyway? Even if I wanted to, I can’t help her.”  
“Call them,” Vegeta demanded.  
“Call who?”  
“That doctor or whoever you talked to on the phone. Call them. Now.”  
“And say what? Let her go? Yeah, like that would work.”  
“Call them,” he repeated.  
“Vegeta,” she said, “it won’t do any good.”  
“Call them.”  
“Will you stop saying that?”  
“CALL THEM!” he yelled.  
“Fine! I’ll call them!” She began to walk towards the living room and pick up the newly replaced phone.  
“What’re you going to say to them?” a curious Goku asked.  
Vegeta stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed, eyes closed, and shaking his leg.  
“Whatever I need to so that Vegeta can move on from this whole situation.”  
“Tell them that if they don’t release her to you, you’ll pull your investment from them.” Vegeta said.  
“What?! Then we will lose everything!”  
Vegeta harshly glared up at her.  
“Fine! I’ll do it!”  
Bulma began dialing the number that she had talked to a few days ago.  
“Yeah, hi,” she began, “this is Bulma Brief. I was just calling to see if you took the subject that you requested me to analyze? Oh…you did? Right, I understand. Well, um…”   
Vegeta wrote something on a piece of scrap paper next to the phone. It said, “2x investment.”  
Bulma looked at the piece of paper and went back to talking on the phone, “I’ll double my investment in SAS if you release the subject to me.” She glared at Goku and Vegeta with a harsh look in her eyes.  
“Oh really?” she said. Both men got increasingly curious.  
“That should be no problem,” she continued, “All I need is the location, and I’ll come by as soon as possible.”  
Could this really have worked? Vegeta thought to himself. Goku and Vegeta looked at each other.  
“8721 N. Guy St. Got it,” she wrote down the address on the same piece of paper than Vegeta had written on, “thank you so much, Dr. Uling.”  
Bulma hung up the phone and handed the piece of paper to Vegeta.  
“I hope you know what you’ve done,” she said to the both of them before walking out of the room.  
The two men ran out of the building and took off to the sky.  
“Where is this place?” Goku asked.  
“It’s downtown somewhere, where, I don’t know.”  
“Do you think we’ll find it on time?”  
Vegeta looked at the piece of paper in his hand. “We have to.”


	8. Clara Saga - Part Eight

**Part Eight - The Rejected One**

**"Your past is always your past.  Even if you forget it, it remembers you." - Sarah Dessen**

 

  “We can’t keep both of them,” a man said, “we must pick one.”  
A man and a woman looked down at the two children they had just brought into the world.   
“That’s an impossible choice,” the woman said.  
“But it’s one that must be made.”  
They laid the newborn babies one the bed and looked at both of them.  The woman became visibly upset.  “I know we must make a choice,” she began, “but I can’t.  I’m going to walk around.  You pick one.  Come find me when you’re done.”  She walked out of the room as the man watched her.  He turned back towards the newborns and looked at their tiny bodies.  
“Which one of you is best fit to carry on after me?” he asked the babies.  “Ah, who am I kidding?  You will clearly be the better one,” he said pointing at one of the babies.  “That means that you have to go,” he said, looking at the other baby.  “I’m sorry, my child.”  He put the chosen baby in the crib and carried the rejected baby out of the room.  He walked down a long hallway and walked out of an automatic sliding glass door.  He carried the baby onto the takeoff and landing station and walked into a garage.  
“How far along is the project?” he asked the mechanic.  
“98% sir.  Just some basic maintenance left to do,” he replied.  
“I need to use it.”  
“What for sir?” He stated.  He then saw the baby in the man’s arms, “oh.  I see.  You and -,” he began before he was interrupted.  
“Was that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?” he said, looking at the mechanic.  
“Umm, well, I mean, I guess you can use it if it so pleases you.”  The mechanic stepped aside from the project.  The man began to walk towards the mechanic and the project with the sleeping newborn in his arms.  
“How does it work?” he asked.  The mechanic stood in the opening and pointed at two different nobs.  “This one,” he said pointing at the left nob, “selects the planet, and this one,” he said pointing at the right nob, “selects the time.  It converts our planet’s year to the selected planet’s year.  Once both are set, this light will turn green, you press the green light and presto.  You have 10 seconds until the door closes so make sure you’re out in time.”  
“Get out,” he demanded.  
“Yes, sir,” the mechanic said as he headed for the exit, “but first, I must know.  Why are you using this ship instead of a normal one?”  
“That is none of your concern.”  
With that, the man scurried out of the workshop.  The man holding the baby walked up to the ship and set the baby inside.  The baby was sleeping soundly.  It was wrapped in a red blanket and had a red hat on.  
“I think I would have liked it better if one of you didn’t exist.  That way, I wouldn’t have to pick one.”  A tear began to roll down his face, “I’m sorry, my child.  I don’t want you to know about the horrors that have been caused by our race, that’s why you’re going to go to a time before anyone knew anything about us and to a planet that is safe and free of harm.”  He kissed the baby on the forehead and reached above it to set the nobs.   
“I’ve heard good things about this place,” he said to the sleeping baby, “it’s called Earth.  It’s a pretty advanced planet.  And set.”  He locked in the option for Earth.  As reality seemed to become more real for him, the tears rolled down his face again.  He sunk his face into this right arm and stopped the tears from coming.  
“Let’s see how their dates work.  Huh.  Alright then.  Let’s see, it’s Age 732 now, so that makes it 1970 on Earth.  Let’s go further back,” he said.  “How about Age 644.  That would make it 1882 on Earth.  Our race was nothing back then.”  He locked in the option for the Earth year 1882 and the green button lit up.  Tears began to roll down his face yet again.  He kissed the baby on the forehead and kept his lips there for a moment.  
“I know you’ll be something great,” he said, “I can only hope that someone will find you and raise you as their own.  I love you, my child.”  He pressed the green button and the countdown of 10 seconds began.  He knew he had to get out of the ship, but he did so unwillingly.  After the 10 seconds were up, the door closed and locked.  It began to disappear into thin air and as it did, the sleeping baby began to cry.  He tried to fight back the tears, but it was to no avail.  He fell to his knees as the machine vanished for good.  _What have I done?_ He thought.  He held out his shaking arms as if something were going to land in his hands.  After a few minutes of regret, he realized that he had to return to his wife and chosen child.  He slowly walked out of the workshop and walked inside the building.  He walked down the hallway that he had just walked down with his child, and after a few moments he walked back into the room he shared with his wife.  She was still out walking around.  _There’s no way she should feel worse than I do,_ he thought.  _I must not let anyone see my pain._ He walked over to the sleeping child lying in the crib and reached his hand down at it.  A smile came across his face, “Prince Vegeta,” he whispered, “my son.”

 


	9. Clara Saga - Part Nine

**Part Nine - Into the Unknown**

**"You're allowed to scream, you're allowed to cry, but you are not allowed to give up." - Unknown**

 

 It didn’t seem like she was passed out too long when she was suddenly pulled back into consciousness by a flood of a wet substance.  As the fluid was submerging her body, it seeped into the fresh wounds on her skin.  _What the hell?_ She thought.  She looked down to the ground and saw that the fluid was red.  _Is that my blood?  Are they washing me off?_ She looked around to see that it wasn’t water being sprayed on her.  _The stuff in the container.  Wait a second.  What the hell is it?  Did they make it red so that it would look like my blood pouring out of my body when it hit the floor?_ She pondered over what it could possibly be but came up with no solid theories.  _What is the purpose of this?_ As soon as she quit thinking about what it could possibly be, she started to feel her fresh wounds again. She began to start moving around again, shaking the chains holding her arms above her head.  As soon as she realized that it was useless, she stopped and stayed as still as she could in hopes that the burning would stop.  A few seconds later, the heavy door opened back up.  This time it was a man wearing a white lab coat and a white hospital mask.  _What now?_ She thought.  
            “Well, well,” he began, “it seems that Topil was right.  You are a feisty one.”  
He walked over and examined her badly cut body.  “I hear you won’t talk,” he said as he came back around to face her.  “That’s fine.  I don’t need you to talk.”  
 _Good.  I wasn’t planning on it._  
“Hmm.  Topil seemed to do a decent job.  However, there is one little thing that is bothering me.”  
 _What?  The fact that I’m not dead yet?_  
He walked over by the door he had come out of a grabbed a lever.  Through following the chains from the lever, she could see that they led to the chains wrapped around her wrists.  “This should get you talking, or making some noise at least.”  He began to wind the level so that she was no longer standing on her tip toes.  He lowered her until she was flat footed on the ground.  With her calf muscles completely ripped apart, there was nothing to hold her up.  The immense amount of pain that surged through her entire body was almost enough to make her give up her stubborn act.  _No,_ she thought.  _I can’t.  I will not give them what they want._ She bit down on her tongue in hopes to numb the pain.  “Awe, wait a minute,” he said, “you’re probably a little off balance with those arms of yours bent.  Let me fix that for you.”  He walked over to her and put leg cuffs around her ankles that were connected to a chain and led to the back of the room.  After making sure that her feet were glued flat-footed on the ground and unable to move, he walked back over to the lever.  He grabbed another part of the lever that was connected to the same chains.  He moved the lever and as he did, she began to bend forward.  _Oh shit,_ she thought.  The further he moved her arms forward the more stretched out her obliterated calf muscles became. _This man is going to fucking rip me in half._ She began to taste blood in her mouth.  After a few seconds, she realized that she had bitten right through her tongue in her attempt to stop the unbearable pain.  He stopped the lever when she became as far forward as possible.  He had put her in a perfect 90-degree angle.  He walked back over in front of her and knelt down to make eye contact.  
“What’s wrong, freak?  Don’t you remember me yet?”  
She gave him a glare that hid back all her tears.  
“Here, this might help.”  He began to remove the mask that was covering his face.  
 _What the hell?_ She thought.  She felt the air leave her stomach.  _Doctor Uling._ Her eyes looked like a deer in the headlights.  “So I take it you do remember me?” he said with a smirk.  She immediately went back to a glare and spit her mouth full of blood onto his face.  
A shocked look came across his face.  
“You fucking bitch!” he yelled at her.  She felt a sharp object cut through her right cheek.  He began to make more lacerations in her skin in a fit of rage.  
“WHY.  DO.  YOU.  HAVE.  TO.  BE.  LIKE.  THIS?!” he yelled as he cut her between each word.  
 _How much more can I take?  If he was going to kill me, he’d do it already.  What is he waiting for?_  
After wearing himself out, he stopped.  She felt her blood begin to drip, and she could hear it hitting the fluid below her.  Her eyes became heavy, and she knew that she was going to go unconscious again.  He grabbed under her chin, picked her head up, and made her look up at him.  In between his heavy breaths he said, “No one is coming to save you.”  
He then dropped her head and she let it hang lifelessly.  As her eyes began to close, the first tear fell and hit the ground beneath her.  _You’re wrong,_ she thought, _someone is coming.  I can feel it._ With that last thought through her head, all consciousness slipped out of her body.

**"To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness - for that is when the stars shine the brightest." - Unknown**

 

“It has to be this way.  It’s the only way we haven’t looked yet,” Goku said.  Both of the men were flying around over West City, desperately looking for an address that didn’t seem to exist.  _Damn that woman.  She probably gave us that wrong address to keep us away,_ Vegeta thought.  _We don’t have that much time.  I can feel it._ He let out a sigh of frustration and stopped in midair.  He closed his eyes and began to focus on his breathing.  
“What’s up, Vegeta?” Goku asked.  
“Shh.”  
 _What in the world is he doing?  I thought he was frantic to find this girl,_ Goku thought.  
 _Come on.  Where are you?  I know you’re around here,_ Vegeta thought to himself.  He began to look in every direction with his eyes closed and breathing controlled.  Even with his eyes closed, it still seemed as though he could see everything.  While looking to their right, and from out of nowhere, Vegeta let out a big gasp, almost like someone had knocked the breath out of him.  
“What is it, Vegeta?  Are you alright?” Goku asked, sounding concerned.  
“This way.  Let’s go,” Vegeta said.  
“Are you sure?  How do you know?”  
“I just know.  Call it a gut feeling.”  
After flying towards Vegeta’s gut feeling for no more than 10 minutes, the two finally found it.   
“North Guy Street,” Vegeta said, “this is it.”  
“What address are we looking for again?”  
“8721.  It should be on the left.”  
The two slowly began working their way down North Guy Street, and finally, 8721 came into their sights.”  
“THERE IT IS!” Vegeta yelled.  
“What are we waiting for?  Let’s go!” Goku replied.  
The two began to descend in front of the building that they had been searching aimlessly for.  
“Wow,” Vegeta scoffed, “should’ve known.”  Above the front entrance was a sign that labeled the building an SAS building.  The building itself didn’t seem like much.  It was a normal looking office building with gray exterior and blacked out windows surrounding it.  Vegeta went to open the door, and when he did, it was anything but normal.  
“The hell?” Vegeta said.  
“Wow,” Goku said sounding amazed, “it’s…empty.”  
Inside, there were no desks, waiting areas, offices, lights, or even elevators or stairs.  All that was there were a few knock off paintings, a large tan area rug, and a small back door.  The floor had large gray tiles and the walls were painted a bright blue color.  
“What the hell is this?  This should be at least a five story building.” Vegeta observed.  
 _Where could they be keeping her?  Why would they give Bulma the wrong address?_ Vegeta thought.  
“I wonder where that girl is,” Goku said, “they clearly aren’t keeping her here.”  
 _Yes, they are.  I can feel it._  
“Yes they are, Kakarot.  We just need to look.  She’s here.”  Vegeta said in reply.  “She has to be,” he whispered to himself.  
The two began searching every inch of the bottom floor of the should-be office building.  
 _Did they really think that Bulma wouldn’t have questioned this?  Did they just expect her to think this is normal?_ Vegeta thought to himself.  He looked over across the room and saw Goku staring up into the tall, empty rectangular sized building.  
“What if there’s something up there?” Goku said while still looking up.  
Vegeta looked up as well, “Go ahead and look if you want, but I don’t think there’s anything up there.”  
Goku took off upwards towards the ceiling and touched on each part of the wall.  _Maybe they have a secret entrance in the wall,_ Goku thought.  However, after much searching, Goku came up empty on his secret entrance in the wall theory.  
“Anything?” Vegeta asked.  
“Nothing.”  
They resumed their search of the walls and the floor and held on to the hope of finding something.  
“Hey, Vegeta?” Goku asked.  “What do you think this means?”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I mean; why do you think they have a building like this?  What’s the point?”  
“Good question.  Maybe I’ll ask them while I tear their bodies apart limb from limb,” Vegeta angrily replied, “now shut up and keep looking!”  
 After much more unsuccessful searching, Vegeta noticed the hidden clue.  In the corner to the left of the back door.  He walked over from the center of the room and discovered the solution to their problem.  
“Kakarot, come here,” Vegeta called.  
“What is it, Vegeta?”  
“Look at this,” he said, pointing to the tile in the corner.  
“What about it?  It’s tile.  Like the rest of the flooring.”  
“No, Kakarot.  I mean LOOK at it.”  
After examining the tile that Vegeta had pointed out, both men could clearly see that it had more wear and tear than the rest of the floor.  
“Chipped around the edges, not fitted to the other tiles, tons of dried glue around it.  There’s something under here,” Vegeta deduced.  
He grabbed the tile by the corner and lifted it up.  Underneath, they found a hole with a lever inside of it, almost looking like an emergency brake.  
“Should we pull it?” Goku asked.  
Without hesitation, Vegeta pulled the lever and they heard a large number of tile slide and grind against other tile, but there was no tile missing in sight.  They both looked around for a second until they realized where it came from.  
“The rug,” Vegeta said, “move the rug.”  
As Goku and Vegeta got up from the tile and went to move the rug, they noticed that the floor started moving back.  
“Hurry!  The lever!” Vegeta yelled.  Goku jumped back to the lever and pulled it.  The floor reversed and began to open again.  
“What just happened?” Goku questioned.  
 _Hah.  Typical,_ Vegeta thought.  “There must be a pressure mechanism.  When we walked away from the lever and off of the tile surrounding it, it must have put the lever back in place.”  
“How the hell does that even work?” Goku asked.  
“When the lever is pulled back, pressure on the surrounding tiles must keep it in its place, otherwise, it moves forward again and closes the gap.”  
Vegeta was spot on with his theory, the lever was built in the shape of an emergency brake that is found on the side of the center console of a vehicle.  When the lever was pulled back, a lock was pushed down by the pressure on the surrounding tiles; however, when the pressure was removed from the lock, the lever returned to its original spot.  
“Oh,” Goku said, “I see.  I never thought they would have something like this in an office building.”  
Vegeta got an annoyed look on his face, “in what world would you consider this an office building?”  
Goku ignored his rude remark.  “So what’re we gonna do?”  
Vegeta looked at the rug that had to open floor underneath it.  “You’re going to stay right where you are, and I’m going to jump down the hole.”  
“Wait.  You’re gonna do this alone?”  
“You still have instant transmission don’t you?  When I get down there, just use your instant transmission to catch up.”  
“Right.  Good thinking, Vegeta.”  
With that, Goku held pressure on the tiles while Vegeta walked over the move the rug and reveal the open floor.  With the floor exposed, it was easy to see a long staircase leading downwards into a dark abyss.  
“Well, Kakarot, it seems we have a long descend in front of us.”  Vegeta began to walk down the stairs and once he was out of sight and into the pitch black, Goku removed his weight from the tiles and the floor shut closed.


	10. Clara Saga - Part Ten

**Part Ten - Saviors**

**"We all makes choices, but in the end, our choices make us." - Ken Levine**

 

_How could I do that to my own child?  My royal blood courses through her veins.  A princess to my throne.  What does that make of me?_ The King thought to himself as he sat on his throne, looking down into his hands were the small baby girl once laid.  
“Your Majesty, Lord Frieza wishes to speak with you,” said a man dressed in armor as he walked down the hallway and up to the throne.  
“Send him in.”  A few seconds later, Frieza walked into the chamber where the King was sitting.  
“Well, well, Vegeta,” he began, “it seems as though I have been told quite the tale about you.”  
King Vegeta looked up to look at Frieza.  “And what tale might that be?”  
Frieza had a smirk come across his face.  “Tell me, Vegeta, did you get rid of one of the newborn royals like I told you to.”  Vegeta went silent for a moment.  “What does that have to do with anything?” he asked.  
“Oh, it has to do with everything.  Tell me, how exactly did you get rid of it?”  
“I don’t see why that matters.  There is only one royal in line to get my throne.”  
“Don’t beat around the bush, King, what did I tell you to do with it?” Frieza asked angrily.  
Vegeta stood up to face Frieza face-to-face, “What you asked of me was out of the question!  I won’t murder my own flesh and blood!  Do whatever you will with me, but I will never hurt my children!”  
“Haha,” Frieza laughed and began pacing back and forth in front of the King.  “Oh, don’t worry Vegeta, I will do whatever I want.  Remember that little tale I told you I heard?  Well, I heard it from some peasant mechanic who informed me that you had in fact used a machine to send the baby back in time to another planet.”  Vegeta had a shocked look come across his face.  _What could he possibly be planning?_  
“Have you heard of Lord Beerus, King?  Well, in case you haven’t, you should know that he rules the entire seventh universe, and it just so happens that this planet, Planet Vegeta, is in the seventh universe.”  
_L…Lord Beerus?_  
“Well,” Frieza continued, “according to Lord Beerus, altering with time is an extremely serious crime that can result in immediate execution.  Wouldn’t it be such a shame if Lord Beerus were to find out about this little tale?  And, I mean, Lord Beerus outranks me, so if he were to tell me to…”  
“ENOUGH!” King Vegeta interrupted.  
“…I would have no choice but to kill you.”  
Frieza kept a smirk across his face, and the King continued to stare at him.  
“What do you want?” Vegeta asked.  
“Complete control.”

 

**"In order for the light to shiny so brightly, darkness must be present." - Francis Bacon**

  
_Come on, where is he?_ Vegeta thought.  _He should be here by now._  
“Huh,” Goku said to himself as he held his index and middle finger to his forehead, “that’s weird, why isn’t it working?  I can’t sense Vegeta’s energy.”  
“Hey!  Kakarot!” Vegeta yelled upwards towards the floor that he had come through.  Immediately, there was an ear piercing echo.  Vegeta covered his ears and floated up off the stairs and toward the ceiling that was made by the floor above him.  _What the hell was that?_  
“Come on, Vegeta,” Goku said while he continued to search for Vegeta’s energy, “where are you?”  
_Maybe if I knock I’ll get his attention._ Vegeta went to knock on the ceiling above him.  _What?  What is this?  There’s…nothing there.  I know I wasn’t that far down the stairs._ He floated back down towards the stairs only to discover that the stairs were gone as well.  _What the hell is going on here?  Is this a dream?  Where the hell am I?_  
Surrounding Vegeta was darkness so black that not even his hand held up to his face could be seen.  In fact, nothing could be seen.  It seemed as though light had completely vanished.  He could physically feel the heaviness of the darkness wrapping itself around his body like a blanket.  _Where does this end?  Or begin for that matter?_ He thought.   
Back in the room, Goku was busy trying to figure out what to do.  “Maybe King Kai will know what to do,” he said to himself.  
“Hey!  King Kai!  If you have a moment, I could really use your help with something!”  
“What is it Goku, I’m extremely busy,” King Kai replied.  
“Can you do me a favor and see if you can find Vegeta?  I can’t seem to find him anywhere.” Goku went on to explain to King Kai about the room that was hidden under the rug.  King Kai began to search for Vegeta’s energy, and about 30 seconds later came back to tell Goku what he had discovered.  
“Uhh, Goku,” he started, “Vegeta is…well, how can I put this?  Vegeta isn’t in the same dimension you are in.  There’s no way to sense his energy.”  
“Ah!” Goku replied, clearly taken aback.  “What do you mean another dimension?”  
“Just what I said.  Another dimension.  The stairs he went down must have led him there. There’s nothing more I can do to help.”  
“Thank you anyways, King Kai!”  
_Oh, man.  What am I gonna do?  I can’t tell Bulma that her husband is in another dimension.  She’d kill me.  There’s no way for me to sense his energy, so I can’t get to him.  I guess…he’s on his own._  
            _Gah,_ Vegeta scoffed to himself, _I don’t have time to wait on that clown.  Guess I’ll go alone.  But…where do I go?_   _Come on Vegeta, that girl is in here somewhere.  She must be going through the same thing.  I sensed her before, maybe I can do it again._  
With that last thought through his head, he closed his eyes and calmed his breathing.  _Weird, I can’t sense Kakarot’s energy at all.  Focus, Vegeta.  Find the girl._  
After a few minutes, Vegeta felt his stomach drop like it had before.  This time, however, the drop was much bigger.  _That way,_ he thought.  While keeping his eyes closed and his arms out in front of him, he began to take off in the direction that the stomach drop came from.  Which direction that was, was anyone’s guess.  As he went further and further, the energy he was following became clearer and clearer.  _Just a little further.  Come on, Vegeta!_ He mentally screamed.  _It feels like I can just reach my hand out and…_ Before he could finish his thought, he was pulled into a room.  As he floated in midair, he saw that the room looked like something out of a horror film.   The walls were gray, cracked, and darkly stained in some areas.  The ground was gray, and it seemed to be rock.  There was a light in the center of the room that swung back and forth and looked like it was about to either go out or fall.  By a large metal door, was a plastic container full of red fluid.  _Is that…blood?_   Vegeta questioned himself.  And at the end of his quick eye tour around the room, he focused on the center of the room.  In the center of the room was a young girl who seemed to be in her early 20’s, chained up, horrifically wounded, and badly bleeding.  _Is that…yes.  It must be.  That’s her!  I finally found her!  Is...am I too late?_

**"There is a voice inside of our heads**  
**that tells us of what is to come**  
**deja vu turned upside down**  
**is what it may seem like to some**  
 **whether it's foresight or just premonition**  
 **it leaves you feeling quite strange**  
 **whisper or shout, it allows for no doubt**  
 **that your fortunes are due for a change."**

**\- Wish Belkin**

 

_Help me…someone please…just help me,_ she thought to herself.  _I can’t take much more of this…I plead…please help me._ After her last cry for help, she felt something.  A presence, but it was different.  It wasn’t one of the people coming back in.  She slowly began to lift her head up and tried to open her eyes.  _I haven’t seen him before,_ she thought.  He had tall spiky black hair with a defined widow’s peak.  From what she could tell, he was wearing a blue suit and some sort of vest.  _Is…is he here to help me?  Please tell me he is here to help me._ For the first time since she had been here, she decided to finally speak.  
“Please,” she said quietly, “please…help me…please get me out of here.”  
_Is that?_ Vegeta thought.  _She’s alive?!_  
Vegeta quickly began to descend.  
“Please…help me.  They’re going to kill me,” she said, trying to look into his eyes.  He was looking at the horrific wounds all over her body.  
“I need you to hang in there, alright?  I’m going to try to get us out of here,” he said, “as soon as I figure out where we are.”  
_Come on, Vegeta.  You didn’t spend all this time and get this far just to screw it up now,_ he thought.  
“Here,” he said as he took his gloves off, “I’m going to tie each one of these around the wounds on your arms.”  
She gave him a nod of her approval.  He began to tie one glove around her left arm and the other around her right.  
“That should hold it for now.  I need to find something for your legs.”  
He began to scavenger through the entire room, but came up empty handed.  He grabbed a knife off the medical table and cut each one of his pant legs off so they now stopped at his knees.  He walked over and tied each one around her calves.  
“If I undo these, will you be able to sit in the chair over there?” he pointed to the back corner.  “I’ll move it closer for you.”  
She nodded her head again signaling her approval, and he began to walk over to get the chair.  
“It’ll feel so nice to sit down for once,” she said.  
“I think you deserve it more than anybody.”  
He sat the chair in front of her, and he came up to her and used his fingers to cut the chains off her legs first and then her arms.  Small tears began to roll down her face as he helped her walk to the chair.  As he sat her down, she threw her arms around his neck and all the tears that she had been holding back came out like a dam breaking.  He knelt down and wrapped his arms around her back, being careful not to squeeze too hard because of her wounds.  She laid her head into his left shoulder and held nothing back.  All of the pain that she had been put through for the last however many hours, days, weeks, months, years, or whatever was finally taking its toll.  
“I knew you were coming,” she said with her head still laying on his shoulder, “I could feel it.”  
She felt a small chuckle come from him.  “I’ve been trying to find you for about a week now,” he replied.  
She felt a complete shock come over her. “Do…do we know each other?” She asked.  
“I have no idea,” he replied.  “I’m Vegeta.  What’s your name?”  
She lifted her head off his shoulder as she became embarrassed, but she answered him truthfully anyways.  “I…don’t know.”  
He looked at her with a shocked look, “What do you mean you don’t know?” he asked  
_How does she not know her name?  Was her crash really that bad?_ Vegeta thought.   
“I don’t know anything about myself, to be completely honest.  I don’t remember my name, where I’m from, my childhood, and pretty much everything before the crash.”  
“Weren’t you severely injured in that crash?”  He asked.  “I mean, clearly you’re injured now, but I can’t see any broken bones or anything.”  
“I was healed somehow.  They didn’t tell me.  All they told me is that I was healed so that I would be a “clean canvas” for them to work on,” she explained, “they think I’m some sort of alien or something.  They’ve been torturing me to try to get information out of me, but I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t speak a single word to them, cry in front of them, or make any kind of sound.”  
“That’s probably what kept you alive,” he said, “we need to get you out of here.  You need to get fixed up.”  
Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with him, he picked her up bridal style and they started heading towards the heavy door.  
“Nuh uh uh,” a voice over a loudspeaker said, “I don’t think so.  The fun has only begun.”  
Vegeta looked around for the loudspeaker.  “Who are you?!” he asked demandingly.  “Tell me who you are!  Come here and face me you coward!”  
The man on the intercom let out a big sigh.  “Oh, Vegeta, Vegeta.  What did you think?  That I would actually believe for one second that your wife wanted to come get this piece of alien garbage?  Please.  Oh, how did you like that dark little patch you went through?  I thought it was pretty clever.”  
Vegeta let out a sigh of frustration.  
“Come on, Vegeta.  Where could you possibly be?” Goku said, still back in the first room trying to use his instant transmission.  “Ah hah!  Finally!  Found you!”  In a flash, Goku disappeared and reappeared behind Vegeta and the girl.  
“Hey, Vegeta!  You found her!  Sweet!”  
“What the hell took you so long?!” Vegeta yelled.  
“It’s a long story.  I’ll explain later.  I’m here now though.  What’re we doing?”  
Vegeta turned around to face Goku, “I need you to take her and get her some help right away.  She’s in bad shape.  Take her and come right back.”  
Vegeta looked down at her before he handed her over to his friend who had his arms out ready to carry her the exact same way.  “This is my friend Kak…Goku.  He’s one of the good guys.  He’ll make sure you get somewhere safe.  I’ll come by to check on you once we’re done here.”  She nodded her head to Vegeta and he handed her over to Goku.  He carried her the exact same way that Vegeta had been carrying her.  He bent over her and took his right arm that was supporting her legs and touched his index and middle finger to his forehead and within a blink of an eye they were out of the torture room.


	11. Clara Saga - Part Eleven

**Part Eleven - Warrior VS Coward**

**"Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior." - Carl Von Clausewitz**

 

“Come out here and face me, you coward!” Vegeta demanded while looking at the intercom.  For a few seconds there was nothing but silence.  
“Ha, ha, ha,” the man finally said, “I would Vegeta, but I know that you’d probably kill me.  You look a little angry.”  
“Killing you would be too easy.  I want you to feel the pain and suffering that that girl felt!” He yelled.  
“All the more reason not to come out,” he replied.  
 _Arrogant coward thinks he’s so high and mighty,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Listen, Vegeta.  I think that I deserve to tell my side of the story.”  
 _This man is a fucking psychopath.  Does he really think that he can justify the pain he caused her?_  
“You don’t deserve the air that’s filling up your lungs,” he said angrily, “how do you even know who I am?”  
“Do you really not think that I wouldn’t know the name of my one investor’s husband?  How’s Trunks doing?”  
 _This son of a bitch.  It makes me sick to hear my son’s name come out of his mouth._  
“Stop hiding like a coward!  I’ll can break down this door in less than a second, and then I’ll tear you apart limb from limb!” Vegeta yelled.  
“Good luck, Vegeta.  That door is made from a perfect blend of pure Chromium and Titanium.  The planet’s two strongest metals, and it’s a foot thick.  Not even your “Super Saiyan” strength can bust through it,” he laughed, “but please, entertain me.  I’d love to see you try.”  
 _How does he know what a Super Saiyan is?  Or a Saiyan for that matter?  It doesn’t matter, I’ll make sure that I get all the answers I need._  
Vegeta looked down to see that his hands had formed into tight fists and had begun to shake.  He felt the anger inside him boil up from his feet to the top of his head.  
“Cat got your tongue monkey boy?  No more threats?”  
 _He’s just toying with me.  He’s nothing but a pathetic human.  I don’t care what that door is made of.  It’s nothing a Saiyan can’t get through._ With Vegeta’s anger reaching the end of its boiling point, he let out a loud yell and transformed into the warrior that had been mocked.  In the blink of an eye, he crashed into the door.  The entire room shook like an earthquake had hit, and the sound of the door echoed so loud that it could have made ears bleed, but as Vegeta had previously thought, nothing was too strong for a Saiyan to bust through.  Once the door fell back and collapsed on the floor on the other side, Vegeta looked up with a smirk to the intercom that had been speaking to him.  
“On second thought,” he said, “hide.  I like a good hunt."

 

**"People must help one another; it is nature's law." - Jean De La Fontaine**

 

No more than a few seconds after leaving the room where the girl was brutally tortured, she and Goku arrived on a large circular monument in the middle of the sky, thousands of feet in the air.  As soon as they arrived, a small green, alien-looking person turned around to face Goku and the girl he was carrying.  
“Where are we?” She said as she looked around as much as she could.  “Who is that?”  
“It’ll all be okay,” Goku replied as he looked down at her, “you’ll be fixed up in no time.”  
“Goku!” The alien-looking person yelled as he ran towards them.  
“Hiya, Dende,” Goku replied.  
Dende looked at the badly wounded girl who seemed to be desperately trying to stay awake.  
“Do you think you can fix her up really quick?” Goku asked Dende.   
“Sure, no problem.  Lay her down right here,” he replied as he motioned for Goku to lay her down in front of him.  As Goku went to lay her down, she grabbed tightly onto his arm.  
“It’s alright,” he said, “Dende here has the ability to heal people.  He’ll have you completely healed in a matter of seconds.”  
 _I guess I shouldn’t be surprised if someone who doesn’t look human has inhuman abilities,_ she thought.  She let go of Goku’s arm, and he continued to lay her down on her back on the ground.  She winced at the pain of her fresh wounds touching the hard surface, and a small tear started to roll down her right cheek.  At the sight of the tear, Goku knelt down and grabbed her right hand.  
“It’s alright,” he said, “I’m right here.  You’re going to be just fine.  I know it hurts right now, but it’ll all be over in a few seconds.”  
 _I don’t know what it is about this guy, but I trust him,_ she thought as she looked at Goku.  She gave him a small smile by using all the strength she had left.  
“Can you close your eyes for me?” Dende requested as he held his hands over her.  She did as she was asked, and in less than a second later, a yellow light came from Dende’s hands and stayed stationary over the girl’s body.  She felt a warm, tingling sensation all over her body, much like a limb falling asleep.  A few seconds after the tingling sensation started, it stopped.  Dende lowered his hands and told her to open her eyes.  As she opened her eyes, pure shock and amazement came over her.  All the pain in her body had completely vanished.  She looked over at Goku who was still holding her hand, and he gave her a smile, and then pulled her up so that she could sit up.  
“Am I…how…am I healed?” She questioned while examining her body.  Goku reached down for her hand once more.  She grabbed his extended hand and he helped pull her up to her feet.  For the first time in what felt like forever, she could stand without feeling like her legs were going to fall apart.  As she continued to examine her body, Dende replied to her question.  
“My name is Dende.  I’m from a planet called Namek, and I’m what is called a Namekian.  My species of people have specials abilities such as healing people.”  
“Dende here is the guardian of the Earth,” Goku continued to explain.  
“Guar…guardian?” She replied, still shocked at the sight of her healed body.  “Nam…Namek?”  
“I know it’s a lot to get used to,” Dende said.  
“You don’t know the half of it,” she replied.  She looked down at Dende who was significantly shorter than her and grabbed his hands, “thank you.  Thank you for healing me.”  
Dende began to blush, “it’s no trouble, really.”  
She turned to Goku and grabbed his hands.  “Thank you, too.  I would have been dead if you hadn’t gotten me here so quickly.”  
Goku also began to blush.  
 _Wow,_ he thought as he stared at her, _she actually quite beautiful now that she’s not covered in blood and cuts._  
Even though her jet black hair was still knotted and need to be washed, her tan complexion was one of the smoothest ones he’d ever seen.  
“Hey,” she said, trying to get his attention, “are you alright?”  
Goku snapped out of his daze.  “Yeah, I’m fine.  Sorry about that,” he laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, “but there’s really no need to thank me.  It’s Vegeta you should be thanking.”  
 _Vegeta,_ she thought, _where is he?_  
“Yeah, speaking of him, where is he?” She asked.  
“He stayed behind to figure out who had done all that horrible stuff to you,” Goku replied.  
She turned back towards Dende and brought back a topic that had passed a few minutes ago.  “So, you’re an…alien?” She said suspiciously.  
“Yes, from the planet called Namek,” he replied.  
“So they weren’t crazy,” she whispered to herself.  
“What was that?” Goku asked.  
“Oh, uh, it’s nothing,” she said convincingly.  
“So,” Goku said, “we’ve told you our names.  What’s yours?”  
“Oh, right,” she started, “I’m…”  She paused.  
 _What?  How do I still not know my name?  I thought that the green guy healed me?  Come to think of it, I know no more than I knew earlier._  She thought.  
She looked at Goku and Dende in shock.  
“I…I don’t remember.”  
“Huh.  You don’t remember?” Goku asked.  
“Yeah.  I haven’t remembered much about my past including my name, family, or childhood since I crashed here.  The doctors said it was something called retrograde amnesia.”  
“Huh,” Dende said, “if your memory loss was due to a medical condition, I would have healed it when I healed your wounds.”  
 _What the hell is going on with me?  Why can’t I remember?_  
She balled her fists into tight fists and held them in front of her chest.  She had an aggravated look come across her face, and her hands began to shake uncontrollably.  Goku put his hands on top of hers to stop them and he pushed them down so that they were out of her sight.  She looked up at him, and he had a smile on his face.  
 _How is this guy always smiling?  It’s starting to get on my nerves.  Does he think this is a joke or something?_  
“We’ll figure it all out.  I promise.”

 

**"The spirit of arrogance most definitely makes you shine.  It paints a big, red target on your own forehead." - Criss Jami**

 

“You know, Vegeta,” the voice on the intercom said, “it doesn’t have to be this way.”  
As Vegeta turned to face the hallway on the other side of the torture room, he saw that his hunt would be a little more difficult than he had anticipated.   
 _What the hell is going on?_ He thought.  
The hallway that laid on the other side was not a normal hallway.  _One…two…three…four…five…  Every five seconds._   Every five seconds the hallway would change, and the number of doors on each side of the hallway would become different each time.  
“Oh, I see you’ve caught on,” the intercom said, “how do ya like it?  Came up with this nifty little place as well.  I like to call it “Nealix”.  It’s a lot like the other dimension you were in.  I haven’t actually figured out a name for that one yet.  It’s newer, but I’m glad to see that it works as well.”  
 _Which doors are the real ones?_  Vegeta thought.  _What’s the pattern?_ Vegeta stood still at the beginning of the hallway, and carefully counted the number of doors each time they changed.  Five seconds went by.  _Eight, nine, ten.  Ten on the left.  Five, six…Damn it,_ he thought has the doors changed.  _Four, five, six,_ he counted in his head as they changed again.  _Six on the left.  Three, four, five…Fuck._ The doors changed once again on him.  As the doors changed again, he noticed that the pattern was different.  _Huh?  Only four doors on the left?  The other side is too full._   The doors changed again, and again, the pattern was different.  _Nine, ten.  Ten on the left this time._   This time, Vegeta was able to quickly count the small amount of doors on the right side.  _Three,_ he thought.  _Thirteen doors in total in this pattern._ The doors quickly changed again.  _Ten doors on the left again,_ he thought, _they must only switch between four different patterns._ Before Vegeta could count the right side, they changed again.  _If it’s the same as before, there should only be six doors on the left this time._ Just as Vegeta thought, there were six doors on the left.  He quickly counted the number of doors on the right side.  _Five, six, seven.  Seven doors.  Thirteen total._ Vegeta smirked at the realization that he had figured out half of the pattern.  He had finally figured out the during the first rotation, the hallway would go from having ten doors on the left and an unknown number on the right   In a second rotation, the hallway would change to having six on the left and seven on the right, making a total of thirteen.  In the third rotation, there would be four doors on the left and an unknown number on the right.  And in the fourth and final rotation, it would change to having ten doors on the left and three doors on the right, making another total of thirteen. _So,_ he thought, _rotation one equals ten on the left and some other number on the right.  Rotation two equals six on the left and seven on the right.  Rotation three equals four on the left, some other number on the right, and then rotation four equals ten on the left and three on the right.  In rotations two and four, it’s the same amount of doors just in different spots.  It must be the same way for one and three.  Which half is easier to count?_ He waited as the doors changed back and forth a few times, keeping true to its design, rotating back and forth between the four different set ups.  _I know there’s ten on the left side during the first rotation.  Maybe it’ll be quicker to count the side with the almost even amount of doors._ A few seconds later the hallway went back to its first rotation.  _Just as I thought._ Vegeta saw that the set up was exactly the same.  Knowing that there were ten doors on the left, he focused his attention on the right.  T _en, eleven, twelve.  Twelve doors.  That makes twenty-two.  Twenty-two, thirteen.  Or perhaps it could be twenty-two, thirteen.  But what does it mean?_  
“Have you figured it out yet, Vegeta?” The man on the intercom said with a bored voice.  
Vegeta looked up at the intercom and gave a smirk.  He then observed the hallway that continued to change its pattern.  _It’s child’s play now that I have it figured out._ He looked up and saw that there was an intercom in the changing hallway.  
“Nuh uh uh,” the voice said, “I wouldn’t if I were you.  Your friend won’t be able to find you with that little technique of his.”  
“Humph,” Vegeta replied as he stepped over the fallen door and started down the hallway.  
“Well, well.  Brave aren’t you?”  
Vegeta kept walking and ignored the intercom.  
 _Twenty-two, thirteen.  Thirteen, twenty-two,_ he thought over and over to himself.   
“So many doors, so many possibilities.  Which one shall our contestant go through?” The man said in a game show host voice.  
As Vegeta came to the end of the hallway, he saw that it was intersected by two other hallways; one going right, and one going left.  
“See, you may have thought you figured out my little game, but you only figured out a part of it.  Which way shall you go now, monkey?”  
 _I can’t wait to rip this guy’s head off,_ Vegeta thought.  He looked to the left and watched at the hallways switched.  
 _He’s too arrogant to change the numbers.  They mean something to him._  
Just as Vegeta thought, the hallway changed, but this time the numbers added up to nineteen and nine, or nine and nineteen.  
 _Maybe the other side,_ he thought.  He watched the other side change back and forth.  _Aha,_ he thought.  There we go.  He turned right and started down the hallway.  
“You know, Vegeta,” the intercom said, “since you’re going to be at this for a while, you might as well listen to my revelation.”  
 _Twenty-two, thirteen.  Thirteen, twenty-two._  
“You see.  I was in a situation much like your little friend.”  
Vegeta didn’t reply, instead he just kept making his way down the maze of hallways.  
“See, a few years ago, there was an underground organization known as the “Midnight Assembly” that was composed of some of the brightest bioengineers, doctors, and chemists who were unknown to the world.”  
 _Twenty-two, thirteen.  Thirteen, twenty-two._  
“They were working on a project, a medicine they called Mycosoline Nizofoxin, but for the sake of your monkey brain, I’ll just refer to it as “The Fox”.  You see, this medicine was created and built through a computer.  By using a computer, they could customize which memories could be forgotten and for how long for each individual person.  If it were accurately built, it would erase the memories of those that took it.  However, because computers have a way of screwing everything up, the coding was reversed and it became a memory restoring tool.”  
 _Twenty-two, thirteen.  Thirteen, twenty-two._  
“My colleagues and I fell victim to this horrific, evil group.”  
 _How ironic,_ Vegeta thought.  
“You see, in the very the beginning SAS was an actual research group that was tasked with research like the public believes.  One night, I was out at dinner with my colleagues after a hard day of work.  After we got done eating, we all went our separate ways.  Since I lived a few blocks away from where the restaurant was, I decided to walk home.”  
 _Twenty-two, thirteen.  Thirteen, twenty-two._  
“On my walk home, a dark van pulled up next to me, and I was pulled inside by a group of people.  When I awoke, I discovered that I was tied down on a table.  I found myself surrounded by people wearing white lab coats and hospital masks.  They showed me a syringe filled with red liquid.  I felt my heart begin to beat out of my chest.  They injected the liquid into the side of my neck and pushed all of it into my vein.”  
 _Is he really trying to make me feel bad for him?_ Vegeta thought as he stared down another hallway.  
“My body began to convulse, and all the doctors backed away from the table that I was laying on.  After my body stopped, they asked me what my name was, and I told them.  ‘Isaac Uling,’ I said.  They looked around at one another and I could hear them talking about how I wasn’t supposed to remember my name.  They asked me where I was from.  ‘North City,’ I said.  They looked at each other again, and then they all walked towards the computer that had made The Fox.  I closed my eyes as I laid on the table, and then I began to see flashbacks.  I remembered you blowing up the stadium," he said, "I WAS IN THAT STADIUM!" He yelled, "I could see the evil creature who had destroyed the Earth and killed everybody, the one named Majin Buu. The fat ogre was watching you and that other guy fight him on another planet. I remember being brought back to life. I remember holding my hands up to the sky as you, Mr. Satan, and that other guy pleaded for help, but most importantly, I remember how I was made to feel like hero only to forget it six months later. I remember seeing the dragon in the sky and then forgetting all that had happened in the six months before."  
Vegeta stood still in the middle of a hallway and soaked in all that he was just told.  
“Because The Assembly was afraid of what had happened, they took me back in to the van and pushed me out where they had found me.  In that moment, I knew that I was one of the only people who remembered the truth.  I knew that I had to do something in order to stop the invaders from coming to Earth and destroying it again.  I wanted to be a hero and not forget about it.  I found my colleagues the next day, and because I studied the route from the lab to where they dropped me off, I knew that it wasn’t far.  I took my colleagues to the lab, and we found it abandoned.  They had left behind all of their research, computers, and The Fox.  I injected each of my colleagues with the liquid, and they all received the same interaction as I did.  They’re memories were restored as well.  Right then, we came up with an idea.  We took the computers, research, and the medicine and we analyzed the coding that had created The Fox.  We found where the inconsistencies were and reversed them, thus creating what The Assembly set out to create – a memory eraser.  Knowing that it would be expensive to create multiple strains, I set out to persuade the wife of the man, or rather, the alien who had killed me to give us the money so that we could afford the costs to create new strains.  Amazingly, she bought my sob story and gave in.  Guess you have to be an idiot if you’re married to an alien.  We played around with it and created a few different types.  One is obviously the injectable type.  There one that can be absorbed through the skin, and the last one can be flavored to taste like juice and ingested by drinking it.”  
 _So that’s how…_  
“We set out to test our new experiments; however, we weren’t stupid enough to test them on ourselves.  We created a strain that set out to erase the memory of someone’s name, childhood, and family.  We also made it so that if someone was already suffering from some type of amnesia, it would strengthen the amnesia and make it last longer.  After all of our preparations we decided that we needed someone to test it on, so we waited.  We waited until the inevitable happened.  We waited until some alien garbage invaded our planet.”  
Vegeta began running faster down each hallway.  
“However, there is one colleague who is completely unaware of what actually goes on behind closed doors.  Dr. Hank Leroy.  I personally appointed him the director, so that SAS would remain innocent in the eyes of the public.  A fine job he’s been doing.  You see, The Assembly was right to be afraid of what they had done.  They created a God.”  
Vegeta began to frantically go down each hallway.  
“’Oh, but Dr. Uling, how did you create these dimensions?’,” he mocked as Vegeta, “Wonderful question, monkey.  You see, I have this program that I created called “Sapphire.”  
 _Sapphire?_ Vegeta thought.  _Sapphire is set to be released as the main security software for businesses around the world.  Don’t tell me…_  
“Through the “Sapphire” main computer, I can create whatever I want, whenever I want wherever a “Sapphire” system is set up and connected to the main hub.  For example, I created these hallways just for you.  Normally, it’s just a normal hallway that leads to normal offices and then eventually outside.  It’s how my staff and I get in and out of this place.  That, however, is gone now.”  
 _This monster is a fucking lunatic.  I’ve heard enough of his babble.  Come on Vegeta, he can’t be far._  
“How do you even know I’m in this dimension you’re running through?  How do you know I’m not altering the hallways as you run and leading you astray?”  
 _He wouldn’t do that.  He’s too confident in his ability to trick me._  
“I am the Alpha, Vegeta.”  
As Vegeta came across another intersecting hallway, he noticed that both sides gave the pattern 22 and 13 or 13 and 22.  
 _Great,_ he thought, _which way now?_  
“I am the Omega.”  
 _I guess I’ll just have to wing it.  Follow my instinct._  
“The first and the last.”  
Vegeta began to randomly turn down each hallway he came across.  
 _Ugh.  I’m sick of playing this stupid cat and mouse game,_ he thought.  
“The beginning.”  
As Vegeta came to the end of the next hallway, he noticed that it didn’t intersect with another.  
 _The hell?_ He thought.  
“And the end.”  
Vegeta stopped at the dead end and tried to figure out what was going on.  He looked the other way to see that it too was a dead end.  
 “Didn’t I tell you it was useless, Vegeta?  This is MY game.  I chose the rules.  I chose the winner.”  
The voice came from behind Vegeta, at the other dead end.  He turned around and saw the man who had been taunting him the whole time.  Dr. Isaac Uling.  
“Do you really think that I would let you have the satisfaction of killing me?” He laughed.  
 _What the hell is this guy?  Oh well, doesn’t matter.  I’ll tear him limb from limb no matter what he is,_ Vegeta thought.  
As Vegeta lunged forward towards Dr. Uling with murder on his mind, Dr. Uling pulled a small black gun from behind his back.  
“Do you really think that bullets are going to hurt me, you fool?!”  Vegeta yelled.  
Dr. Uling let a smirk come across his face as he held the gun up to his left temple and pulled the trigger.  
“YOU COWARD!” Vegeta yelled as Dr. Uling pulled the trigger.  The sound of the gunshot left an ear piercing echo, and as Dr. Uling’s lifeless body dropped to the floor, the endless hallways that Vegeta was trapped in disappeared.  As soon as the hallways disappeared, Vegeta realized that he was in the same room where he found the girl.   
 _Was HE the main hub?_ He thought.  
On the wall behind the lifeless body, there were words written on the wall.  Vegeta walked over to read it, and it read, “We are doomed to die!  We have seen the face of God!”  
 _Who the hell wrote that?_  Vegeta thought.  
Vegeta looked down at the man who had shot himself to escape his torturous murder.  
“You were no God.  You were merely a coward who preyed on people weaker than you.”  
Vegeta turned his back to the dead body and saw the hallway back to its original, real world form.  He walked over the door he had knocked down once again and set off down the hallway.  
 _At least the doors aren’t moving,_ he thought.  As he got to the end of the hallway, he looked left and right.  To the left was another corner, and to the right was the exit.  He saw the light shining through a small window and began to walk towards it.  
 _Now.  Where are your staff members?_  
He got to the door and opened it up, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he finally found himself outside, in the sun, in the real world.

 


	12. Clara Saga - Part Twelve

**PART TWELVE: REGROUP**

**"On a cosmic scale, our life is insignificant, yet this brief period when we appear in the world**

**is the same time in which all meaningful questions arise." - Paul Ricoeur**

 

_I know exactly where he took her,_ Vegeta thought as he flew through the air.  He was headed in the direction of the Lookout, the place where Goku had taken the girl.  _I hope she’s alright.  I need to figure out who she is._  
A few minutes later, he landed on top of the Lookout.  The girl, Goku, and Dende were all standing around talking.  
“Hey, Vegeta!” Goku yelled as soon as he saw him.  The others turned around to face him.  
“Where have you been?  We were gonna come help you, but I couldn’t find your energy,” Goku explained.   
“It’s a long story,” Vegeta replied.  _Wow,_ he thought as he looked at the girl he had spent the last week trying to rescue.  _She’s…gorgeous.  There’s something really familiar about her._  
The girl walked up to Vegeta and grabbed his hands.  “I wanted to say thank you,” she said, “I’m pretty sure that I would have died if it hadn’t been for you.  I need to know though; why were you so obsessed with finding me?  Goku told me how determined you were.”  
“I wish I knew the answer.  I’ve felt uneasy ever since this whole thing started; since the moment you crashed here.”  
“Right,” she said as she let go of his hands, “so, you don’t know who I am?”  
Vegeta shook his head.  “No, I don’t.  Do you remember anything?”  
Dende cut in at this point to answer Vegeta’s question.  “I healed her physical wounds completely as you can tell.  Any amnesia should have been healed as well,” he said.  
“I think I can explain everything to you,” Vegeta replied.  
“Wait,” Goku said, “you know what’s going on with her memory?”  
He stared at Goku.  “According to the man who was behind this whole thing, Dr. Uling, there was a medicine called “The Fox” that was created.  At first it was meant to erase certain memories from people who took it, but when he was forcibly injected with it, it made him remember everything about the whole Buu situation, and it sparked a hatred for aliens.  Soon after, he had his colleagues take it,” Vegeta explained.  “They then took The Fox, fixed what was wrong with it, and then did a trial run on our friend here,” he said pointing at the girl, “and it appears to have worked.”  
“The Fox?” The girl questioned.  
“I don’t remember the technical name for it.  It’s a red liquid.  It can either be absorbed through the skin, injected with a syringe, or flavored to taste like juice and absorbed by drinking it.”  
 _The juice.  The syringe.  The red container,_ the girl thought.  
“It all make sense now,” she said quietly.  
“Hmm?” Vegeta said as he perked his head up.  
“In the hospital, Dr. Uling gave me pills with juice to drink with it.  When I first got to that torture room, the woman there injected me with a syringe with a red liquid in it, then when I woke up after passing out, I was being sprayed by a red liquid from a large container.”  
“Dr. Uling was the one behind it all,” Vegeta said, “everything was his doing.”  
“So,” Goku said, “where is he now?”  
“Hopefully in hell now,” Vegeta said as he turned his back and faced towards the edge of the Lookout.  
“What did you do to him, Vegeta?” Goku asked.  
“Nothing.  He took his own life.”  
“What other information were you able to get?  Is there a way to reverse the effects?” The girl questioned.  
“He pulled the trigger before I could,” Vegeta said.  
“Well, if he was able to figure out how to reverse it to make it take away memories, do you think it would be possible to reverse it again?  You know, like back to how it was in the first place when it made him remember?” The girl asked optimistically.  
“Hey!  That just might work!” Goku exclaimed.  
“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” Dende added on.  
“It won’t,” Vegeta said.  
“What makes you say that?” The girl asked.  The girl, Dende, and Goku lost their optimistic outlook faster than they got it.  
“Because,” Vegeta explained, “I’m at odds with the one person who could possibly do it.”  
 _Damn, Bulma.  Why do you have to be like this?  Perhaps I could bribe her,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Oh, that’s right.  I forgot,” Goku said as he dropped his head.  
The girl got a confused look on her face.  “His wife.  Bulma,” Goku answered before she could even ask, “she’s a little…stubborn.”  
“Oh, I see.  Well, maybe if I explain to her what happened, she’ll be more than willing to help!” The girl said.  
“Don’t count on it,” Vegeta said, “we’re at odds because she didn’t want me helping you.”  
“Huh?  Why not?”  
“Long story short, we lost all our income because of this,” Vegeta said bluntly.  
The girl dropped her optimistic expression and her eyes began to fill with tears.  Her heart sank to her feet and her stomach dropped just like someone had knocked the breath out of her.  
“Well,” she said quietly, “I’m sorry that I’m such a bother.  I didn’t ask you to save me.  I didn’t ask anyone to save me.”  
She turned and walked away toward the other side of the Lookout, away from everyone.  As she turned to walk, Vegeta turned around as if he was about to say something, but decided that it would be best if he didn’t.  
“You shouldn’t have told her that,” Goku said, “she’s a really sweet girl, and she’s been through a lot.”  
“I know she has, Kakarot,” Vegeta replied.  
On the other side of the Lookout, the girl with no memories sat down and dangled her newly healed legs over the edge.  
 _All of this is so insane,_ she thought as she looked down to the planet below her.  _I don’t remember this planet at all.  Green people who heal injuries, people who can teleport from one place to another.  All of it is so…different.  Or is it normal?  Who am I to judge what’s normal nowadays._  
As she swung her feet back and forth of the edge, much like a child, Goku walked up next to her and sat down beside her.  He sat the same exact way with his feet swinging back and forth over the edge.  
“We’re all so insignificant,” she said.  
“Huh?  What do ya mean?” Goku replied.  
“Sitting up here, looking down at the planet below me has made me realize how insignificant I am as a person.  As a singular being,” she said, “all of the people down there who inhabit this planet have their own lives and their own problems.  Mountains that are seen as enormous on the ground are nothing but tiny ant hills from up here.  Down there, people view this planet as a small world, but up here it’s easy to see that there’s much more to it than meets the eye.  It’s all about the way you look at things, I guess.  Down there, my problems may seem huge, but up here, compared to the size of this planet, they’re minuscule.  What may appear big, might actually not be that big once you think about it.”   
“Hmm,” Goku said, “I’ve never thought about it like that.”  
“Yeah.  Me either.  I don’t think.  I wish I could get my memories back.”  
“Yeah, I wanted to apologize for Vegeta.  He’s a little rough around the edges, and he can say things that come out wrong sometimes, but he’s a good guy in the end,” Goku said apologetically.  
“I understand how he feels.  To tell you the truth, I would be a little pissed too if I lost my income due to someone else.  I wish that hadn’t happened, but I am thankful for his determination to save me,” she said with a half-smile on her face.  She looked over her shoulder to see if Vegeta was still standing in the same place, but it appeared that he had left.  
“Huh?  Where’d he go?” She asked.  
“Oh, yeah.  He went to try to convince Bulma to try to reverse The Fox.  He said he might be able to bribe her,” Goku explained.  
“Bribe her?”  
“Let’s just say that Bulma’s been a bit baby crazy lately.”  
 _Wow,_ she thought, _he would actually have a smelly, loud, annoying child just to help me?_  
“Hah,” she chuckled, “I feel sorry for him if that’s what he has to do.  I’d rather just not have my memories back.”  
“It sounds like you don’t like kids,” Goku said with a laugh.  
“I feel like I’d rather lose my memory than have children any day.”  
“Well, Vegeta already has one.  A son named Trunks.  He’s nine,” Goku started, “and I have two sons.  Gohan and Goten.  Gohan is the oldest, he’s eight teen; he’ll be nineteen next month, and Goten is only eight.”  
 _There is no way this man is old enough to be a father of an eighteen-year-old.  He barely looks twenty-five,_ she thought.  
She looked at his with a suspicious look.  “How old are you?” She questioned.  
“Well,” he laughed, “that’s a little hard to answer.  Techincially, I’m thirty-eight, but I’ve died a few times.”  
“I’m sorry.  What?” She said, shocked as she shook her head in disbelief.  
“On this planet, there are these things called “Dragon balls.”  There are seven of them, and once you collect all seven of them, a dragon named Shenron will come out and grant you any wish you want; including bringing people back to life.”  
 _She probably thinks I’m a lunatic,_ Goku thought as he rubbed the back of his head.  
“So how many times have you been brought back?”  
“Wait.  You actually believe me? I didn’t think you would,” he said, shocked.  
“I don’t remember my own name, past, childhood, or family.  Who am I to judge what’s true or not?”  
“I guess you have a point.  But to answer your question, twice.  Once, when I was killed fighting my brother, Raditz, and the other when I sacrificed myself to try to destroy a monster named Cell.  
“Do you age when you’re dead?  You don’t look old enough to have an eighteen-year-old.”  
“No,” he said, “you don’t age.  I’ve actually been dead for a total of eight years.  I was gone for a year when I died with my brother, and I was dead seven years when I sacrificed myself.  I was just recently brought back when Majin Buu attacked.”  
 “So, you’re actually thirty?”  
“I guess so,” he chuckled.  
“Who is this Majin Buu person?  Vegeta made it sound like he was a big trigger for Dr. Uling.”  
Goku realized that it was best to go ahead and tell the whole story, so he did.  After he was finished, the girl sat there with shock and amaze all over her face.  
“I don’t even know what to say,” she said, “I mean, how does something like that happen?”  
“I wish I knew the answer.  At first, I thought it was me.  That’s why I stayed gone for so long after the whole Cell thing.”  
“Why would you think that they have something to do with you?”  She asked curiously.  
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me or not, but I’m not from this planet,” he said.  
“Like I said before, I don’t have any room to judge what’s real,” she laughed.  
“Right,” he chuckled, “believe it or not, I’m what’s called a Saiyan from Planet Vegeta.”  
“Planet Vegeta?  As in that Vegeta who was just standing here?  He has his own planet?”  
“Well, he did.  Sort of.  He’s the Prince of all Saiyans.  His father was King Vegeta,” Goku explained, “but it was blown up the day I was born, and only a handful of Saiyans who were on other planets survived.”  
“So how did you escape?”  
“Right before the planet was blown up, I was sent here to Earth on a mission to destroy it, but when I landed here, I was found in the woods by an old man – Grandpa Gohan.  I hit my head which made me forget why I had been sent here in the first place, and I guess, ultimately turned me good.”  
“Wait,” she said, “so, Saiyans aren’t good?  You seem like nice people to me.”  
He chuckled.  “When Vegeta first came here, he came here with the intent of killing me, stealing the dragon balls, and then destroying the planet.  He’s not a bad guy anymore.  Still a little rough around the edges though.”  
“He’s obviously different,” she said.  “That Vegeta wouldn’t have sacrificed himself for anyone or tried to save me.”  
With that last sentence, Goku stomach started to growl.  “Man, I’m hungry.  Do you feel like eating?”  
“Haha,” she laughed, “I feel like I could eat a cow.”  
The two stood up from the edge of the lookout and Goku jumped off.  “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU -,” she began to yell.  She then noticed that he was floating in midair.  
“Well,” she said, “I’d be lying if I said I was surprised.”  
He laughed and rubbed the back of his head with his eyes closed.  “Do you remember if you’re afraid of flying?”  
“I, uh.  I don’t think I am,” she said as she looked down and out into the wide open sky.  
“Well, then what are you waiting for?  Let’s go get something to eat.”  He said as he held his arms out, “jump.  I gotcha.”  
Feeling assured that he was going to catch her, she leaped off the Lookout and he did as he promised and caught her.  Moments later, they took off flying down to the vast world below them.

 

**"You don't need a reason to help someone." - Unknown**

 

_I can’t believe I’m going this far,_ Vegeta thought as he walked up to the front of Capsule Corporation.  _Whatever, it’s for the best I suppose.  It might not actually be that bad._   He walked up to the automatic doors and they slid open.  He walked inside and called out for Bulma.

“In here,” she said from the living room to the left.  Vegeta walked into the room and saw her sitting on the floor with design blueprints laid out.  
“What’s all this?” He questioned.  
“Just some new products I’m trying to come up with.  We’re gonna need something to sell.  You know, since you ruined us,” she said as she glared up at him.  
“I need your help with something,” Vegeta said plainly.  
“What is it?  I’m extremely busy,” she said, sounding annoyed.  She continued to write out the blueprints.  
Vegeta went on to tell her about everything that had happened in the previous hours.  
“He…shot himself?”  She questioned as she looked up at Vegeta.  
“Mhmm.  The Fox, Bulma.  Do you think you’ll be able to reverse it or not?”  
She scoffed at his, what seemed like, simple request.  “Are you joking right now?”  She said as she stood up.  “Why on Earth should I?  I specifically told you to leave it alone.”  
“Her,” Vegeta said harshly, “you told me to leave HER alone.”  
“Her, it, whatever.”  
“Bulma, she needs her memory back, and I need to find out who she is.  Will you just try?”  
“Why is it that no matter what I say to you, it seems to go through one ear and out the other?  I don’t understand, Vegeta.  I told you to leave HER alone, and you continued to intervene.”  
“Bulma,” he said as he grabbed her hands.  She was clearly taken back seeing as how this was a rare gesture. “I will do anything.  I will give you anything, whatever you want, if you do this for me,” he said in a calm tone.  
“You’ll give me anything?”  She questioned.  
“Anything.”  
 _And here it comes.  Maybe this time, it can be do-over.  A second child, a second chance._  
“I want a divorce,” she said bluntly.  
He dropped her hands slowly.  “Are you…what?”  He asked, shocked.  
“I want a divorce,” she repeated.  
“I heard that part.  Is this because of me not leaving this situation alone?”  
“No,” she said, “I’ve been considering it for months.”  He looked down to the floor and around the room.  “You’re never here, Vegeta.  I don’t want to be married to someone who is never here.”  
“What do you mean I’m never here?  I LIVE here,” he said.  
“You’re not emotionally here.  That’s what counts more than anything.”  
He scoffed.  “And here I was about to give you another child.”  
“Why would you think that that’s what I wanted?  I have enough trouble raising Trunks by myself.”  
“You’re not raising him by yourself,” Vegeta insisted.  
“It feels like it.”  
“What happened to you being baby crazy not too long ago?”  Vegeta questioned.  
“That was months ago.  After Buu was defeated, and you started acting like a husband and a father, I did want another one.  Then you changed again.  You became more obsessed with power than your family.”  
“You know that’s not true.”  
“Yes, Vegeta, it is.  You became more obsessed than ever to be stronger than Goku, and now, you’re more obsessed with figuring out who this GIRL is instead of listening to me.  I agreed to help you, and I told you what I wanted in return.  The ball is in your court now,” she said as she continued to sit back down and resume drawing out the blueprints.  
 _A divorce?  Have things really gotten that bad?_ Vegeta thought.  
“I’ll find another way,” Vegeta said as he looked down at her only to find that she was not going to look back.  Vegeta then walked back out of the living room and out of the front door, and took off into the sky back towards the others.  
 _A divorce?_  He thought to himself again.  _How could she possibly ask for a divorce?  I’ve got to find another way._  
As Vegeta got closer and closer to the Lookout where Goku and the girl was, he tried to come up with some sort of plan, but alas, nothing sparked an idea.  
“Hey Vegeta!”  Goku said ecstatically with a mouth full of food as Vegeta landed on top of the Lookout, “you’re back!”  
Vegeta said nothing.  He walked straight past Goku and went straight to Dende.  
“Dende,” Vegeta said.  
“Um…hey Vegeta,” Dende replied, “is everything alright?”  
Vegeta completely ignored Dende’s question, and instead changed the subject.  “Are you sure that there’s nothing you can do to restore her memories?”  
“Normally, I would be able to, but for some reason, I can’t.  No matter how many times I try.  I’m sorry, Vegeta,” Dende said as he lowered his head.  
“Did Bulma say that she won’t be able to reverse The Fox?”  Goku questioned as he walked up to Dende and Vegeta.  
“It doesn’t matter what she said,” Vegeta replied, “all that matters is that we have to figure something else out.”  
Goku, Dende, and Vegeta all stood around and tried to come up with solutions as to how they were going to help the girl get her memories back, and then seemingly out of nowhere, the best idea of the day was thrown in.  
“Hey guys?”  The girl questioned as she stood up from her food and walked towards Vegeta and Dende, “what if we use that dragon thing?  You know, the one you told me about,” she said, pointing at Goku.  
“Hey!  That’s a great idea!”  Goku exclaimed.  
“Aren’t you forgetting?”  Dende asked, almost trying to remind Goku.  “The dragon balls can only be used once a year, and we used them four months ago when we made everyone forget Buu.  We still have to wait eight months.”  
 _Eight months?_ The girl thought.  _There’s no way I can live like this for eight months.  I’d rather be dead._ She unknowingly, and what seemed like instinctually, balled her fists up tightly, and her fists began to shake as she stared at the ground.  
            “Hey,” Goku said as he held her hands to get them to stop shaking, “it’s gonna be fine.  We’ll just have to figure something else out.”  
She let out a slight chuckle.  “How many times am I going to have to hear that?”  She said, still looking at the ground.  “Maybe I should just go ahead and start all over,” she said, sounding defeated, “come up with a new name, a new -.”  
“No,” Vegeta interrupted, “you’re somebody.  We just have to figure out who.”  
“And how exactly do you think we’re gonna do that?!”  She yelled at Vegeta, “I don’t even know if I have any family here on this stupid planet!”  
 _That’s it.  Family.  DNA.  She has to be related to someone._ Vegeta thought.  
            “I have a plan,” Vegeta said, completely ignoring the girl yelling at him.  
“Huh?  What is it?” Goku questioned.  
“She has to have some sort of family somewhere,” Vegeta explained, pointing at the girl, “DNA test.”  
“A DNA test?”  She questioned.  
“Yes.  It’s test where they take your blood and run-,” Vegeta began before being interrupted.  
“I’m not stupid.  I know what a DNA test is,” the girl said offended, “I didn’t forget basic knowledge, you know.”  
“Says the one who can’t remember her own name,” Vegeta replied in a snarky tone.  
They both glared at each other for a few seconds until Goku intervened.  
“Guys.  Calm down,” he said as he wedged his way in between them.  “Where would we get her DNA tested?  Dende, can you do it?!”  
“Sorry, Goku.  I can’t,” Dende said sadly.  
“We take her to the hospital and get one done,” Vegeta said.  
“I’m sorry,” the girl said in a bitter tone, “if this does somehow work, and I do find my family, how is that going to help me get my memories back?  All it would do is make it harder to get through life.”  
“If we can figure out who your family is, sometimes, seeing the members of your family can help jog your memory,” Vegeta said, “however, with your certain memories being affected by that drug, I don’t know if it’ll work.”  
“But -,” Goku began  
“It’s worth a try,” she interrupted.  
“Now you’re getting it!” Goku exclaimed.  
“I’m starting to get how different you two are,” she said with a slight chuckle.  
“Well, what are we waiting for?”  Vegeta said.  “Let’s get a move on.”


	13. Clara Saga - Part Thirteen

**Part Thirteen - Family**

**"All families have their secrets, most people would never know them, but**

**they know there are spaces, gaps where the answers should be, where someone**

**should have sat, where someone used to be. A name that is never uttered, or**

**uttered just once and never again. We all have our secrets." - Cecelia Ahern**

 

 “Control?”  King Vegeta scoffed as he looked at Frieza.  “You want complete control?”  
“That’s correct,” Frieza said with a chuckle.  
“This is MY planet.  MY people.  Not yours,” King Vegeta insisted.  
“Ha, ha.  And I seem to remember YOU sending one of YOUR twins away.  Not only to a different planet, but back in time.”  
“I only did what you asked of me!”  King Vegeta yelled.  
“That’s where you’re wrong Vegeta.  I merely asked you to get rid of one of them.  I never told you to send it back in time.  And in case you’ve forgotten, altering time is a massive offense and can result in execution,” Frieza explained.  “Now.  If you don’t want this little secret to leave us and you wish to protect your planet and remaining family, I suggest you do as I ask.  I want complete control.”  
 _What kind of King am I?_ King Vegeta thought.  _What kind of father would…?_  
His thinking was interrupted by Frieza’s impatience.  “I’m waiting,” he said as he turned his back towards King Vegeta.  
“Control over what?”  
“Finally.  It’s about time.  The Saiyans,” Frieza said as he turned back around.  
“The Saiyans?  I’m their king.”  
“And you can feel free to continue playing that role, but I want military control,” Frieza said.  “As far as they know, you and I are partners.  Think of it as me helping you out.  I give the military their orders from now on – use them as I please.”  
“Let’s say I refuse,” King Vegeta said.  
“If I sense even the tiniest amount of resistance from you, the news of what you did will go to Lord Beerus, and your son, the Prince, will come with me.”  
 _Would he seriously take my son?  It’s too risky.  I’ve already made the mistake of getting rid of my daughter, the princess.  I can’t risk losing my son._  
“You have a deal,” King Vegeta said.  
“It wasn’t like I was asking for your permission,” Frieza said with a smirk across his face.  
Frieza turned and walked out of the King’s throne room.  As he walked towards the exit, King Vegeta couldn’t help but lower his head and release a small tear.   
            _I have to protect what little I have left,_ he thought as he looked down to the ground, _is this the right road to take?  Am I doing what any king and father would do?_    
As his tears started to hit the ground beneath him, he sat back down on his throne and cupped his face in his hands.  With no one left in the room, he cried into his hands for what seemed like an eternity.  
 _I would do anything to hold my daughter in my arms…to have her back here where she belongs,_ he thought has he took his hands down from his face and looked into his hands that had been catching his tears.  
“Wait a minute,” he mumbled to himself, “the mechanic”.  He quickly stood up and wiped the tears away from his face.  He started to run out of the throne room and ran down the hallway where he had once carried his newborn daughter.  After a few minutes, he arrived at the landing and launching zone where the mechanic had been.  He walked over to the garage and opened the closed door.   
            “Landis!  Where are you?!”  He yelled out for the mechanic as he closed the door behind him.  “Landis, where are you?!”  He repeated.  
With no response, King Vegeta began to walk around the workshop where he and his daughter last saw each other.  
 _God.  It was right here,_ he thought as he stood in the spot where the machine use to be, _right here is where I made the biggest mistake of my life._  
He reached his right arm out in the open as if he was going to be able to grab onto something.  He held his arm out for a few seconds, and in those few seconds, he noticed a drop of blood hit the top of his hand.  
 _What the hell?_ He thought as he looked at the blood.  “Landis!  Are you alright?!”  He yelled as he looked in the direction from where the blood came from.  _Damn.  It’s too dark in here to see anything,_ he thought.  With his other hand, he created an energy ball big enough to light up the dark room.  As he moved his hand towards the area where the blood came from, his eyes opened wide, and he was overcome with sheer terror.  
            Hanging above him, was the mechanic, Landis.  The same mechanic who had created the machine that took the King’s daughter back in time to a different planet.  Now Landis was strung up on a rafter by a rope noose with sharp spikes sunk in his neck.  
 _What the fuck?_ The king thought to himself.  He began to rise up to see the body of the once genius mechanic.  As he got closer, he could see just how brutal Landis’ murder was.  As he looked at his body, he noticed that every other finger on each hand has been torn off, not cut off, but torn off.  His right eye had been ripped out of his head, all the bones in both his arms were shattered, and his left foot had been cut off.  The blood caused by the spikes in the noose dripped down his neck and down his body, but he soon realized something else on the left side of the noose around the dead mechanic’s neck.  
            _Is that a…paper?_ He thought.  He hesitantly rotated Landis’ dead body so that he could reach for the paper in the noose.  It had been folded six times, and it was covered in blood.  He closed his eyes and slowly reached his hand into the noose to grab the piece of paper.  _This is absolutely disgusting,_ he thought.  He grabbed a hold of the paper and pulled it out of the noose.  When he opened it, it read:  
“Dear Vegeta,  
This man told me a very interesting tale.  I remember telling you to get rid of one of the twins, but I never said you had permission to use time travel to do it.  Since I know you’ll eventually be overcome with guilt and regret, I also know you’ll come back to this very man and get him to make another machine.  Did you forget that messing with time is an offense punishable by death?  Do you see this man?  You’re the reason he’s in this state.  As I was pulling his fingers off, he informed me that you were the one who had him make it in the first place.  He told me how you came marching in here with the newborn girl and used the machine on her.  Now, how does it feel?  How does it feel knowing that you’re responsible for this man’s death, getting rid of your daughter, and if you don’t do whatever I say, the entire downfall of the Saiyan race?  
Sincerely,  
Frieza.”  
 _This sadistic, cold-hearted, bastard,_ King Vegeta thought to himself as he lowered the note from his eyes.  His face had a look of disbelief on it.  He looked back up to Landis’ hanging, dead body.   
            “Please forgive me, Landis,” King Vegeta said quietly, “I had no idea this would happen.”  
He folded the note up and put it inside his vest on the left side of his chest.  He held Landis’ body with his right arm and used his index and middle finger on his left hand to cut the rope.  
 _I can’t carry him out there.  Questions will be asked,_ he thought, _I have to take care of this in here._ As King Vegeta landed on the ground, he laid Landis’ body down on face up.   
            “You were a good man, Landis,” King Vegeta said as he knelt down on one knee beside the dead body.  “I know Saiyans aren’t the pure-hearted type, but you were different.  No matter who it was, you showed kindness to everyone.  Even to me.  You were an honest man who made an honest living.  Perhaps, it’s because you weren’t on the battlefield,” he said tearfully as he reached into Landis’ left pant pocket.  He pulled out a dirty, folded up picture that showed Landis with a woman and two young children.  One boy and one girl.  “Or maybe, it was because of them,” he said as he looked at the picture.  “They’re going to miss you.”  A tear fell from his eye and landed on the picture.  “I’m sorry this happened to you.  Out of everyone here, I’m the one who deserved it the most.  I know you wouldn’t have told Frieza if you had a choice.”  He folded up the picture and placed it on the other side of his chest.  “I’ll be sure to give this to your family.  And I will make sure that your death is avenged.  That I can promise.”  He stood up from Landis’ side and formed an energy ball in his right hand.  “I’m sorry that this is the kind of funeral that you’re receiving, but you must understand, I must protect my son and people.  Landis, please forgive me.”  As he finished his sentence his put his hand closer to Landis’ body and held it there.  He knew that if he released it, it would draw attention.  As the ball of energy began to touch the body, the body began to turn to ash until it eventually disappeared completely.  As Landis’ body disappeared, King Vegeta took his hand down and put it by his side.  
            _Frieza,_ he thought, _I’ll play your little game for now.  But just know that your time will come.  And if you don’t meet your end by my hands, I promise that it will be by another Saiyan’s._

 

**"It's good to know where you come from. It makes you what you are today. It's DNA, it's in your blood." - Alexander McQueen**

 

  “Man, I hate hospitals.  I don’t get why I had to come,” Goku said as he, Vegeta, and the girl sat in a waiting room.  
“This isn’t a hospital,” Vegeta explained, “it’s a clinic.”  
“Same thing.  I don’t see a difference.”  
The trio sat in a small waiting room as they waited for a doctor to come get them.  On the end was Goku, next to him was Vegeta, and then next to Vegeta was the girl.  The girl didn’t seem to noticed Goku and Vegeta’s normal bickering.  Instead, she seemed to be lost in deep thought.  
 _Is this really going to work?_ She thought.  _What if I’m really not from this planet?  Why would I have come crashing down?  Could it be that I was returning home?  What if I have no family here?  What if they’re bad people.  What if…_ Her thoughts were cut off by Goku who was leaning over Vegeta to get her attention.  
            “Hey,” he said, “you alright?”  
She snapped out of her deep thought.  “Yeah,” she said with a small smile, “I’m fine.  Just perfect.”  
“Kakarot,” Vegeta said aggravated, “move over there if you want to talk to her.”  
Goku looked up at Vegeta who was glaring at him.  “Haha.  I guess that would be easier,” he said.  
Goku got up from the end seat and moved over to the other side of the girl.  
“Are you sure you’re okay?  You don’t seem okay,” he said as he looked down at her hands.  Unknowingly to her, she had balled her fists up and they were beginning to shake.  She looked down to see what he was looking at and noticed her fists.  
“I guess I’m a little nervous,” she said as she opened her tight fists.  
“What for?  You might find out who your family is!”  Goku exclaimed.  
“What if I don’t have one?  What if I’m not even from this planet?  Then there would be no way to find out who I’m related to.”  
“Well.  Um,” Goku said as he tried to come up with something to say.  
Vegeta let out a slight chuckle.  “What?  Nothing annoyingly optimistic to say?”  
“No.  What I was trying to say is that she’ll figure out who her family is sooner or later if that drug wears off.  If it wears off, she’ll have all her memories back!”  
“That’s a big if.  What if it turns out that I have no family on this planet and the drug never wears off.  What then?” the girl said.  
“Anything else you’d like to say, Kakarot?”  
Goku hung his head in defeat.  _I wish there was something else I could say to help lighten the mood up just a little.  They don’t seem to want to hear it though._  
“So, Vegeta,” Goku began.  
“What.”  
“How did you arrange this so fast?”  
“Yeah, I was gonna ask the same thing,” the girl added.  
“The doctor here is an expert with DNA and genetics.  He works for Capsule Corp as well as the clinic itself.  He’s paid yearly by us in exchange for seeing anyone associated with Capsule Corp whenever they need to be seen,” Vegeta explained, “people associated with Capsule Corp come before any other patient.”  
The girl and Goku both nodded their head in understanding.  A few minutes of silence went by until a nurse popped her head out of the double doors off to the left of the waiting area.  
            “Vegeta?”  She said.  
“Come on.  Let’s go,” he said to the girl as he stood up.  
She looked over at Goku.  “Do you wanna come back?”  She asked.  
“No, I’m good.  I don’t like being around doctors if I don’t have to be,” he said with a slight chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.  
“Well, alrighty then,” she said with a small laugh, “alright, let’s go.”  
She stood up from her seat, and she and Vegeta walked towards the nurse who was holding the double doors.  
“Right this way,” the nurse said.  
The two quietly followed the nurse down the hallway, and at the end they turned left.  
 _I’ll never be able to look at hallways the same,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Alright.  Here we are,” the nurse said as she opened the door to room ten.   
“Thank you,” the girl said as she walked past the nurse and into the room.  The nurse nodded her head in reply.  
“Doctor Sosa will be with you in a few minutes,” she said as the two walked into the room.  
After they were both in the room, the nurse closed the door behind them.  
“So,” the girl said as she sat down on the high table, “you really think this guy can help?”  
“If he can’t, then I don’t see why Capsule Corp is paying him so much,” Vegeta replied as he sat down in a chair across from her.  
“How much is Capsule Corp paying him?”  
“$600,000 a year.”  
“Seriously?  This guy is making $600,000 a year?”  She questioned, shocked.  
“That’s just from Capsule Corp.  He’s also getting paid by the clinic.”  
 _This doctor better be able to help me,_ she thought.  
A few seconds of silence went by, and it felt as if you could cut the tension with a knife.  
“Can I ask you something?”  She questioned.  
“Hm.”  
“Why do you talk so differently to me than you do to Goku?  You don’t sound aggravated or annoyed when you talk to me, but it seems like you want to rip Goku’s head off whenever he says or does anything.”  
“I didn’t spend all that time looking for you just to be an asshole to you.  You haven’t done anything to me,” he explained.  
“And Goku has?  No offense, but he doesn’t seem like the type of guy to do something worth being hated over.”  
“Kakarot and I have a long history,” Vegeta replied, “my history with you just started.”  
“What is that supposed to mean?  That you’re planning on treating me like you treat him in the future?”  
“No.  It means that the future can go any way you want it to.  What you do to me determines how I treat you.  And honestly, I hope that you and I actually become friends,” he explained.  
 _Wow,_ she thought, _I would never have expected that from him.  He seems like a pretty easy-going guy though.  Goku must have really done something bad to him._  
            “Knock, knock,” Doctor Sosa said as he opened the door, “how are we doing today, Vegeta?”  He asked as he closed the door behind him.  
“Fine.  I’m not here for me though,” Vegeta replied, “it’s for her,” he said, pointing at the girl.  
“Oh, friend of Vegeta’s?”  The doctor asked the girl.  
“I uh, I don’t know,” she replied with an embarrassing sounding tone.  
“Oh?”  The doctor replied.  
“She doesn’t remember her name, her childhood, or her past,” Vegeta explained.  
“Hmm.  Well, there’s nothing I can do about amnesia.  That has to heal on its own.”  
“That’s not why we’re here,” the girl explained, “we’re here hoping that you can do a DNA test to see if I have any family.”  
“Oh.  A DNA test?  That’s definitely within my power,” Doctor Sosa happily replied.  
“How long is it going to take to get results?”  Vegeta asked.  
“Well, since you’re high up in the chain of command at Capsule Corp, I’ll have the results for you in about two hours,” the doctor said as he walked over to his counter to grab a syringe.  
“Alright.  If you don’t mind, can you stretch out your left arm for me palm up?”  
“Sure,” she replied as she stretched out her arm, “how many people is this going to be run against?”  She asked as the doctor stuck the needle into her blue vein.  She jumped a little bit from the tiny sharp pain as the needle broke her skin.  
“Everyone that has any sort of DNA sample in the system.  Everyone from criminals, patients, CEOs, and everyone in between,” he said as he began to draw the blood out of her arm, “teachers, doctors, lawyers.”  
 _That’s a lot of people.  If I am from here, I have to be related to at least one of those people,_ she thought.  
“There we go.  All done,” he said as he pulled the syringe out of her arm and put a gauge bandage on the punctured skin.  
“Thank you.  What do you think the odds are of me being related to one of them are?”  
“I’m positive that you’re related to at least one of them.  It’s going to be run against billions of people all around the world,” the doctor replied.  
 _Wow. Billions of people.  It seems the odds are in my favor,_ she thought with a smile.  
“I’m going to go get this started.  I’ll come and get you when the results are back.”  
Vegeta and the girl walked towards the door and Vegeta opened the door for the two of them to walk through – letting her go first.   
“Awe.  Such a gentleman,” she said, poking fun at him.  
“Sush,” he said as he started to blush.  
The two walked out the door and back down the hallways.  When they got back to the waiting room, they noticed that Goku wasn’t there anymore.  
            “We were seriously not gone more than fifteen minutes.  Where the hell could he have gone?”  The girl questioned.  
“I have a pretty good idea,” Vegeta replied as he pointed across the street at an Italian restaurant.  
“Seriously?  At a time like this?”  She questioned.  
Across the street, Goku sat outside with a table stacked full of spaghetti, garlic bread, ravioli, and lasagna.  
“Should…should we go get him?”  The girl asked, confused.  
“No.  Let’s leave him in his natural habitat,” Vegeta said as he took his seat in the waiting room again.  He sat down, crossed his arms, crossed his left leg over his right, and closed his eyes.  
 _Hurry up, Doctor Sosa,_ he thought.   
The girl looked over her shoulder at him and thought, _I don’t understand how he can dislike Goku so much.  He doesn’t seem like that type of guy to me.  There seems to be a lot more about him._ She walked over and sat in her seat next to him, and as she did, he opened his eyes and turned his head towards her.  
“I don’t get it,” she said.  
“Get what?”  
“You,” she said, bluntly.  He cocked his head at her as if he were confused, “you don’t seem like the type of person to like to treat people badly.  So why do it to Goku?”  
He turned his head back to its original position and closed his eyes again.  “It’s as I said, it’s a long story.”  
“We have time,” she said, still staring at him.  
“Fine,” he said with a sigh, “long story short, I was the Prince of all Saiyans before they were destroyed.  I have royal blood coursing through my veins.  I was the strongest of them all until Kakarot proved himself stronger.  He took my pride – my honor, and no matter how much I push myself, the gap between our power never closes.  That’s why.”  
She gave him a confused look.  “Really?”  She said, suspiciously, “that’s it?”  
“What do you mean, ‘is that it?’  That’s enough,” he said, offended.  
“Seems silly to me.  What if I was stronger than you?”  She joked.  
“Unless you have royal Saiyan blood coursing through you, our relationship would most likely be the same way.”  
“So, it’s a rivalry?”  
“You could say that,” he said as he opened his eyes back up.  
“I don’t get why it bothers you so much, though.”  
“How would you feel if you were a Saiyan Princess who would one day become Queen, and know that once you became queen, the leader of all the Saiyans, there was one Saiyan who was significantly stronger than you?”  He hypothetically said.  
She thought on it for a minute.  “Then I would probably just enlist that Saiyan into my personal army or something,” she said with a smile.  
A few more minutes of silence went by until the girl sitting next to Vegeta broke it, “so why do you call yourself the Prince of all Saiyans.  Why not the King?”  She asked curiously.  
He let out a little chuckle, “Who am I going to be King of?  The three half-breeds and Kakarot alongside an earthling Queen?”  
“That’s better than King of no one,” she said.  
“Even if I were to step up and accept that title, there’d be no way of having a coronation.  My father’s pendant and cape were destroyed when the planet was blown up.  Both things would be needed.”  
            _This breaks my heart,_ the girl thought, _what if there was…oh wait, there is!_  
“What if we used the dragon balls to wish the Saiyans back to life and bring them here!”  She said, excitedly as she stood up.  
Vegeta gave her a smirk.  “I appreciate the idea, but it wouldn’t work.”  
The girl’s enthusiasm quickly left her.  “You’re always so quick to just to the worst conclusion, aren’t you?”  
Vegeta looked up at her from his seat.  “No.  It cannot work.  The dragon balls can only revive those who have died within a year.  It’s been thirty-five years since the Saiyans were wiped out,” he explained.  
“Oh.  I see,” she said with a sad expression as she sat back down.  
“I don’t think it would be a good idea anyways,” he said to her as she held her head down.  
“Huh?  Why not?”  She said as perked her head back up.  
“The Saiyans weren’t a very kind hearted race.  They would most likely cause chaos on this planet.”  
“You’ve got a point,” she said, “but hear me out.  What if, hypothetically, there was a way to wish back just your father and bring him here?  Not every Saiyan, just the King.  I’m sure you and Goku could handle one Saiyan if he were to cause chaos.”  
 _I wish there was a way to bring him back,_ Vegeta thought, _I can never admit it, but I miss my father more and more every day.  I only had five short years with him._  
“If there was a way, then I’d do it,” Vegeta said, bluntly.  
“Well then.  It’s settled.  After we get done here, we’re gonna find a way to bring the King of all Saiyans back!”  
 _Bring…my father back?  Does she really think that there could be a way?_ The next hour went by slow filled with silence and small talk here and there, snack trips to the vending machines, and restroom breaks.  
            “Vegeta and uh, friend?”  Doctor Sosa said as he peeked out of the door.  They were both pulled back into the real world and pulled away from their thoughts.  They stood up out of their seats and began to walk towards the door.  
The girl took a deep breath.  “Well, this is it,” she said.  She looked down and noticed that her hands had begun to shake.  
 _What is this feeling?  Nauseous?  Nervousness?_ She thought as she stopped in her tracks.  
“Hey,” Vegeta said as he interrupted her thoughts and placed his hand on top of hers to get them to stop shaking, “it’s going to be okay.”  
“Right.”  
As they began walking again, the door seemed to get farther and farther away.  It felt like they walked a mile before they had even come close to the door.  As they got close enough to the door, they could see Doctor Sosa’s confused expression.  
            “Something wrong?”  Vegeta asked the doctor.  
“Just, uh, come back here and we’ll all have a chat,” he replied.  Vegeta and the girl looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces.  
“Is there something wrong with me?”  She asked.  
“What?  No.  Of course not.  Everything is completely normal,” the doctor reassured her with a smile on his face, “just come right this way.”  
The two followed Doctor Sosa down the first hallway and then down the next until they were back in the same room as before.  The whole way, Vegeta and the girl were looking at each other with questionable looks.  
            “Please take a seat,” the doctor said as the girl and Vegeta walked into the room.  He held the door open for the two to walk through and then closed it behind himself.  Vegeta sat in the same chair as before and the girl sat back up on the high table.  As Doctor Sosa walked away from the closed door, he pulled a clipboard out from behind his back.  He pulled up a stool that was in front of his counter of medical equipment, and sat in between the girl and Vegeta.  
            “What’s this about?”  Vegeta questioned.  
“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?  You seem a bit worried,” the girl said.  
Doctor Sosa looked through the pages on his clipboard and let out a sigh.  
 _What is this guy’s problem?_ The girl thought.  _Why is he acting like a complete weirdo?_   As doctor Sosa continued to look through the pages on his clipboard, Vegeta and the girl looked at each other as if they were talking through telepathy.  
 _What’s this guy up to?_ Vegeta thought.  
            “Before I tell you the results of the DNA test.  I must stress to you that DNA is very rarely wrong,” Doctor Sosa finally said.  Vegeta and the girl both nodded their head in understanding.  “Next, I must know.  Have you…are you sure that you two haven’t met before?”  
“Well, I wouldn’t know if I’ve met him before,” the girl said.  
“I’ve never met her before.  I only met her the other night,” Vegeta explained.  
“What does that have to do with anything?”  The girl questioned.  
“Well, first, I want you to know that I ran this test fifteen times just to make sure what I was seeing was correct,” the doctor said, “at first, I ran it for the closest paternity match, your father, but I came up with nothing.  Then I ran it for the closest maternity match, your mother, and again, came up with nothing.  As soon as I was about to give up, I decided to run it for the closest sibling match, your brother or sister.  After running it for a few minutes, the green “Match Found” screen popped up on my computer.  As soon as I clicked it, I didn’t believe what I saw, so I ran it again.  But this time, I ran it against the person that it matched against.  I repeated the process fourteen more times, and each time, the results came back the same,” doctor Sosa explained.  He looked back down at his clipboard and revealed the results that they had been impatiently waiting to hear.  “Your,” he said, looking at Vegeta, “and your,” he said, looking at the girl, “DNA is 75% similar – meaning that you two are what we call semi-identical twins.”  
            With pure shock written across their faces, Vegeta and the girl looked at each other with confused looks.  
 _What did he say?  Twins?  Semi-identical?  What is that?  What are the odds that this guy is my brother…my twin?_ She thought.  
 _You can’t be serious!  If I had a sister…a twin sister, I’m sure I would have known.  There has to be a mistake!_ Vegeta thought.  As they both continued to look at each other, doctor Sosa butted in.  
            “I can provide some clarity for you if you’d like,” he said.  They both looked away from each other and looked at the doctor who seemed relieved to have the news off his chest.  
“Please, enlighten us,” Vegeta said.  
“Very well,” the doctor said, “as you are probably familiar with, there are identical twins and fraternal twins,” he began to explain as he stood up from his stool and hung up six pictures, “identical twins are of course identical.  When one sperm fertilizes one egg, and the egg splits in half, it creates identical twins.  A copy of the same person,” he explained.  “Fraternal twins, as you may know are created when two different sperm fertilize two different eggs at the same time.  However; semi-identical twins are created when two different sperm fertilize one egg.”  
“Meaning?”  The girl said with a look of disbelief.  
“Meaning that whenever two sperm, whether they are two X sperm, two Y sperm, or one X and one Y, like in your case, fertilize a single egg at the same time, the egg splits in half and thus semi-identical twins are created.  We call them semi-identical because the share the same like identical twins do, but have different DNA from the father because they’re two different sperm.”  
“How…are…how sure are you about this?”  Vegeta questioned, still shocked.  
“99.9% sure.  I only say 99.9% because it’s illegal for me to say 100%,” doctor Sosa explained, “as soon as I analyzed the first few tests, I decided to break the DNA down further just to make sure,” he said as he pointed to the first two pictures he hung up, “because you are technically an owner of Capsule Corp, we have a sample of your blood in a vial in case of emergencies,” he said to Vegeta, “this first one, is yours,” he said as he looked at the girl, “and this one is yours,” he said as he looked at Vegeta, “since red blood cells don’t carry DNA, I had to separate the white blood cells from the blood fluid because white blood cells are what carry your DNA.  I had to do this with her’s before I could even run it though the system,” he said, looking at the girl, but still talking to Vegeta.  “After I separated your white blood cells from the blood fluid, I got this image of your DNA and matched it against the sample I got from her,” he said as he pointed to the picture of Vegeta’s DNA, “and as you can see, the DNA makeup is 75% similar.  However, there is one strange phenomenon that I can’t quite figure out.  If you two are in fact twins, you should be the exact same age, forty-three years old, but after running tests on both samples of DNA, I concluded that you two are completely different ages.”  
The twins looked at each other and then to Doctor Sosa.  _How the hell could TWINS be completely different ages?_ Vegeta thought.  
“What are you talking about?  If we’re twins, we’re the same age,” the girl said, “that doesn’t make sense.  If he’s forty-three, then I should be forty-three as well.”  
“I don’t understand it either, but aside from that, you two are 75% identical genetically speaking.  The only thing different between you and Vegeta are your genders.  After we get done here today, I’m going to go back and figure out why your DNA is much younger than his.”  
“Younger?”  Vegeta questioned.  
“Yes.  According to her DNA she is only twenty-three years old.”  
 _Twenty-three?_ The girl thought.  _Well, that’s one question answered._  
            “So what are the other four pictures?”  The girl asked, changing the subject.  
“Ah, right.  Just so I could make sure that what I was seeing was correct, I took it a step further.  I extracted the paternal DNA from your sample,” he said as he pointed to the third picture and looked at the girl, “and the paternal DNA from your sample,” he said as he pointed to the fourth picture and looked at Vegeta, “the paternal DNA comes back a match, thus confirming that you two do in fact share the same father.”  
            The girl and Vegeta stared at the pictures hanging on the wall, still in complete shock.  
 _This is absurd,_ Vegeta thought, _but the evidence is right in front of my eyes._  
            “And finally, I extracted the maternal DNA from each of you,” he said as he pointed to the fifth and sixth pictures, “and it also is exactly the same – confirming that you two share the same mother.”  
“Then…wouldn’t we be fraternal twins?”  The girl questioned.  
“Not exactly.  Fraternal twins only have 50% of the same genetic makeup, just like normal siblings do.  You have 75%.  Even though there isn’t much of a difference in fraternal and semi-identical, I was able to determine that you both share the same exact set of your mother’s DNA, but different DNA from your father.  It’s obvious that there was an X sperm and Y sperm because you’re the opposite sexes,” he explained, “when I was examining the maternal DNA in both samples, I concluded that you two share the same exact genetic makeup from your mother, thus meaning you were both created from the same egg – something that only happens to identical twins.  However, the one egg was split by two different sperm – something that only happens to fraternal twins.  In the end, my final conclusion is that you two are the rare phenomenon known as semi-identical twins.”  
            The set of twins sat still where they were sitting and stared at the pictures that were hung up on the wall and then at each other.   
“How did you find each other?”  Doctor Sosa asked.  
“He saved my life when I got kidnapped,” the girl answered bluntly, “I would be dead if it wasn’t for him.”  
“How did you save her life?”  The doctor asked as he looked at Vegeta.  
“I uh…when she crashed on this planet and was taken, I had an uneasy feeling for a few days that something was wrong, so I did everything I could to find her,” he explained.  
“Ah.  Interesting.  I remember hearing about that on the news,” the doctor said, “tell me.  Did you ever feel like you knew someone was going to save you?”  He asked the girl.  
“Yeah, I did actually,” she said.  
“That’s what is known as “twin to twin syndrome”,” the doctor began.  
“The what?”  Vegeta said suspiciously.  
“It most commonly known in identical twins.  Since you two were made from one egg split into two like identical twins, it doesn’t surprise me that you were both feeling this.  Twin to twin syndrome is a strange but amazing thing that twins share.  When one twin is in pain, the other can feel it too, and when something is wrong with one of them, the other one can feel uneasy.”  
            _That explains it,_ Vegeta thought, _all the uneasiness, the strange feelings._  
“I’ll leave you two alone for a little while, and let you both give this time to sink in.  Come and find me when you’re ready,” Doctor Sosa said as he stood up and walked towards the door.  As soon as he walked out, the girl got up off the table and walked over to the pictures that were hanging on the wall.  
            _This…this is insane.  How…how did I happen to stumble across my twin brother?_ She thought.  She looked back at Vegeta who was still sitting in his chair looking at the pictures in complete shock.  
 _How could I not know about a twin sister?_ Vegeta thought.  _How could they have possibly hidden her from me?_  
“You know, I think I have more questions than I did before,” she stated as she walked back towards her brother.  
“Like what?”  He asked.  “I think we both got some pretty big answers today.”  
“I know, but what are the odds that out of all the planets, and all the people on those planets, I just so happen to land on the exact one in the exact city where my twin brother is?  How am I twenty years younger than you when we are clearly, biologically, twins?  Why didn’t we feel this “twin to twin syndrome” sooner?”  
“How could our father have hidden us from each other?”  Vegeta questioned.  “It would really help if you had your memories back.  I would at least like to know my sister’s name.”  
            The girl walked over to her brother who was still sitting in the same spot, wrapped her arms around him, and leaned over onto his right shoulder.  “Me too,” she whispered, tearfully with her eyes closed.  As Vegeta continued to stare at the six pictures on the wall, a tear began to fill his left eye.  Instead of fighting it back however, he let it roll down his face and land on his sister’s arm.  
            “Thank you,” she said, “thank you for saving my life.”  
 _My sister…My twin sister…My younger twin sister…I feel like I’m in a dream.  There’s no way I couldn’t have known about her._   He thought.  
“Isn’t that what a big brother is for?”  He joked.  
She let out a chuckle and a smile came across her face.  “Yeah.  I guess so,” she said as she moved from behind Vegeta.  
She sat back up on the high table that she had been sitting on for what had felt like an eternity and looked at her brother.  “What if I never get my memories back?  I don’t want to be nameless forever,” she said as she held her head down.  
“So pick a name,” Vegeta suggested.  
“I can’t think of any good ones. I’ve tried,” she said, “I can’t see myself having a future on this planet - especially without being able to introduce myself to people.  How much does it take to get some clarity?”  
 _Clarity,_ Vegeta thought.  _Something I think we both need.  Wait a minute…clarity…Clara._  
“Clara,” he said.  
“Huh?”  
“The word “clara”.  It’s short for “clarity” and also means “bright” and “clear” in Saiyan,” Vegeta said as he looked up at his sister.  “I think it would serve as a good name for you.  So you always remember what you’re fighting for.”  
She had a small smile come across her face.  “I like that,” she said as she jumped down from the high table.  She walked in front of her brother and held out her right hand.  
“Hi, I’m Clara,” she said with a smile.  Vegeta had a small smile come across his face.  
“Vegeta,” he said as he went to grab her hand and shake it, “nice to meet you.”


	14. Clara Saga - Part Fourteen

**Part Fourteen - Belonging**

**"Half the time I don't know what they're talking about; their jokes seem to**

**relate to a past that everyone but me has shared. I'm a foreigner in the world,**

**and I don't understand the language." - Jean Webster**

 

As the twins finished shaking hands, reality hit Clara like a train, and the smile she had left her face.  As they let go of each other’s hand, she turned her back to Vegeta, crossed her arms, and stared in the direction where the pictures were hanging.  
            _This is all so…scary,_ she thought, _this man that I just met the other night turned out to be my twin brother.  What am I supposed to do?  Am I supposed to just trust him?  I know absolutely nothing about him._  
“What’s wrong?”  Vegeta asked, finally breaking the silence.  Clara looked back to look at him, but then turned her head back around a few seconds later.  
“It’s nothing,” she said.  
“We’re twins,” Vegeta said, “do you really think I can’t tell when you’re lying?”  
“That’s the problem,” she said, quietly.  
“Huh?”  
Clara turned her body completely around to look at her brother.  She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.  “Yes.  We’re twins,” she said as she opened her eyes, “but don’t you think that it’s just a little bit strange that we’re able to tell when something is wrong with the other, or when one of us is lying?”  
“No.  You heard what Doctor Sosa said,” Vegeta said, as he looked up at his sister.  
“I don’t mean that it’s strange in a biological way,” Clara said, “it makes complete sense that we’re able to do that.  We were once the same egg.”  
“Then what are you talking about?”  Vegeta asked, sounding annoyed.  
“I mean it’s strange in a general sense.  We’ve never met before, yet, when I crashed here, you felt that something was wrong about the situation and did everything you could to find me,” she said.  “Then, just now, you caught me lying.  You said, ‘We’re twins.  Do you really think I can’t tell when you’re lying?’.”  
A few seconds of silence went by and the twins just stared at each other.  
“Somehow,” Clara continued, now sounding aggravated, “I ended up on this ridiculous planet, lost all memory of who I am, and then, as if the universe was trying to say, ‘Here!  Here’s something else to try to figure out!’, I just so happen to get rescued by my twin brother who is somehow twenty years older than I am!”  She yelled.  Tears began to roll down her face, and she continued to talk through her tears.  “It feels like you know so much more than me.  It seems like you know more about our past, our family, and me in general.  And here I am, knowing only you, Goku, and my new name.”  As she finished, Vegeta quietly got up from where he was sitting, and walked over to his visibly upset sister.  With tears rolling down her face and her hands trembling, he wrapped his arms around her, laid his cheek on top of her head, and looked towards the wall that the pictures were hanging on.  
            “You’re wrong,” he said as he looked at the pictures hanging on the wall.  “I know nothing of our past, because we don’t have one.  I never knew or heard about you.  As far as our family goes, I can tell you what I know, which to be honest with you, isn’t much.  Our home planet was blown up when I was five.  And you actually know more about me than I know about you.  All I know is that we’re twins, and your new name is Clara.”  
Clara moved her head out from under Vegeta’s and separated herself from him.  “I guess you’re right,” she said as she rubbed her face.  “God, I feel like such a whiny little child,” she said as she looked down and balled her fists, “Goku told me all about Saiyan strength and power, so if I’m a Saiyan, then I must be strong like you two.”  
Vegeta let out a small chuckle.  “I know I’m right,” he said.  “And yes, you are acting like a whiny child, but I can’t imagine what it must be like to know nothing about yourself, so I’ve been trying to play the brother role and help you.”  
She let out a small chuckle and had a smirk come across her face.  “Thanks,” she said as she looked up to her brother, “but I don’t need to be babied anymore.  After all, I’m the Princess of all Saiyans.”  
            The same smirk that had come across Clara’s face was now on Vegeta’s as well.  “Yes.  You are.”  He said.  “What do you say we get out of here and go figure out who you are?”  
“Sounds like a plan to me,” she replied, “shouldn’t we find Goku first?”  
“Fine,” Vegeta said with a sigh, “let’s go find him.  If I know him, he’s probably still across the street, eating.”  
Clara laughed and they both headed out the door, but not before grabbing the pictures of the DNA that were hanging on the wall.  
“You’re keeping those?”  Vegeta asked.  
“Yeah.  As a reminder.”  
Vegeta closed the door behind them and they began to walk back out into the waiting room.  When they got back to the waiting room, they looked around and saw that Goku still wasn’t there.  Clara walked up to the front door and looked out of it, and as Vegeta had theorized, Goku was still sitting across the street eating.  
“Can…can he really eat THAT much?”  Clara asked Vegeta, shocked.  
“Saiyans have a big appetite, but Kakarot overdoes it,” Vegeta explained.  
Clara turned away from the door to face her brother.  “Alright.  That’s it,” she said aggravated, “what the hell is with this whole ‘Kakarot’ thing?  When I first met you two, you introduced him as Goku, and he said his name was Goku.”  
“I’m guessing when he told you about Saiyan power and strength, he forgot to mention that he was sent here as a baby from our home planet,” Vegeta replied.  
“No.  He told me that.”  
Vegeta let out a sigh.  “His Saiyan name is Kakarot.  He was named ‘Goku’ by the earthlings.  I call him by his Saiyan name.”  
“Oh.  Well, since I’m a Saiyan, should I call him by his Saiyan name?”  She questioned.  
“That’s up to you.”  
“Hmm,” she said as she turned back towards the door, “I don’t think I will.”  
She pushed the door opened and they both walked outside onto the sidewalk.  
“What’re we gonna tell him?”  Clara asked as she and Vegeta waited for traffic to clear.  
“The truth, I suppose,” he replied.  
The traffic cleared long enough for the two of them to run across the street.  
“I really wish you could fly,” Vegeta said as they were halfway across the street, “it would be a lot more convenient.”  
“Maybe I can,” she said, “I wouldn’t know.”  
            As the approached the other side of the street, Goku was finishing up his last plate.  
“Good God, Kakarot,” Vegeta began, “your stomach is like a bottomless abyss.”  
“Hey guys!”  Goku exclaimed with his mouth full.  Clara turned away at the revolting sight of the food in his mouth.  
“Kakarot!  Chew your food before you speak!”  Vegeta yelled.  
Goku swallowed his food and apologized.  “Sorry guys.  I was just so hungry.  I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days,” he said as he stood up from his seat, “so how did it go?!”  He asked Clara excitedly, hoping to hear good news.  
“Oh…well, uh…it uh…,” she began, trying to find the words to tell him the news.  She glanced at Vegeta as if she were asking him to answer the question for her.  
He glanced back at her and seemingly understood what she wanted him to do.  “She and I are related,” he said.  
Goku’s jaw dropped to the floor, and he looked at looked at them back and forth.  
“Yeah, that.”  Clara said.  
“Woah, woah, woah.  You guys are RELATED?!  Man, I think I see it now.”  
“See what?”  Vegeta asked curiously.  
“The relation!” Goku said, excitedly as they all began walking down the sidewalk.  “The tan skin tone, the jet black hair, the onyx eyes, and you guys even have the same nose and mouth!”  Goku exclaimed.  “But your ears are a little bigger, Vegeta, and she doesn’t have that big widow’s peak.”  
“UTTER ONE MORE WORD, AND I SWEAR TO GOD…!”  Vegeta began to yell before being cut off by Clara.  
“That’s enough, brother,” she said.  
“B-B-BROTHER?!”  Goku exclaimed.  “What?  How?  How is that possible?!”  
“We’re what’s called semi-identical twins,” Clara said.  
“TWINS?!”  
“Kakarot, shut up and let her finish.”  
“It’s complicated and rare,” Clara continued, “we aren’t like normal twins.  Identical twins are made with one sperm and one egg, fraternal twins are made with two sperm and two eggs, but semi-identical twins are made from two sperm and one egg.”  
Goku rubbed the back of his head as if he was trying to understand what Clara was saying.  “It’s all so confusing, but I think I understand.”  
“We’re called semi-identical because we were made from one egg like identical twins are, but fertilized by two sperm like fraternal twins are,” Vegeta clarified.  
“Hmm.  I think I get it,” Goku said, “So, how did you guys not know until now?  Didn’t you grow up together?”  
Vegeta and Clara looked at each other.  “No,” Vegeta said, “I never knew about her.  I’m guessing they kept her secret.”  
“Wow.  This is all so weird,” Goku said, “it’s hard to believe that you two are not only related, but you’re TWINS!”  
Clara let out a chuckle.  “That’s not even the weirdest thing to me,” she said.  Goku looked at her with a curious face.  “Somehow, according to my DNA, I’m twenty years younger than he is.  According to my DNA, I’m only twenty-three.”  
Goku stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as the twin brother and sister continued to walk.  After realizing that he had stopped they both stopped and looked back at him. When they turned back, they saw Goku standing still with an even more confused look on his face and his head cocked to the right.  
“Are you alright?”  Clara asked, sounding concerned.  
“I just realized something,” Goku said.  
“What.”  Vegeta said.  
“Not only do I have to listen to Vegeta brag about being the Prince of all Saiyans on a daily basis, but now I’ll have to listen to her brag about being the PRINCESS of all Saiyans!”  Goku exclaimed.  
Vegeta and Clara looked at each other with unimpressed looks, turned back around, and continued to walk down the sidewalk.  
“Hey guys!  Wait up!”  Goku yelled.  
“I can see how he can get on your nerves,” Clara said to Vegeta as Goku caught up to them.  
“Mhmm.”  
“So how’s the memory thing coming along?”  Goku asked as he made his way back in between the twins, changing the subject.  
“I still don’t remember anything.  Whatever it is in that drug that’s causing my memory loss, must be something incredibly strong,” Clara said.  
“There is one thing that’s been bothering me,” Vegeta said.  
“What’s that?”  Clara asked, raising one eyebrow to her brother.  
“Why did they feel the need to give you it multiple times?  Why wasn’t one dose enough?”  
“Woah,” Goku said, “I didn’t even think about that.”  
“Yeah.  Me either,” said Clara.  
“There must be a reason behind it,” Vegeta continued, “if it was really that expensive to make, they wouldn’t have wasted it on useless doses.”  
 _That’s it,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Guys!  What if it has an expiration time!  What if it only stays active for so long?!”  Clara exclaimed, sounding hopeful.  
 _Damn.  She beat me to it,_ Vegeta thought.  
“That would make sense,” Vegeta said.  
“But how long does it take to wear off?”  Goku asked as he crossed his arms and looked up to the sky as if he were searching for an answer written in the clouds.  
“That’s something we need to figure out,” Clara said.  
“I really wish you at least knew your name,” Goku started, “it would be helpful to know what to call you.”  
Clara let out a small chuckle and a smirk came across her face.  “You can just call me ‘Princess’,” she joked.  
A smirk mirroring her’s appeared on Vegeta’s face when he looked over and saw the reaction on Goku’s face.  Goku stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and his jaw hit the ground.  
“Ah, man!  I knew it!”  Goku exclaimed as he jumped back and waved his hands in the air.  “I knew this would happen!  I can’t deal with TWO Vegetas!”  
Vegeta and Clara both stopped in their tracks, looked at each other, and began to burst out laughing.  
“What’s so funny?”  Goku asked, sounding offended.  
In between her laughs, Clara was able to speak.  “I was just joking,” she said before she began to laugh again.  
“Oh my God, Kakarot.  You should have seen the look on your face!”  Vegeta laughed.  
Goku walked back up to the two with a look of annoyance on his face.  
“So,” he began, “what can I call you?”  
“Vegeta came up with the name ‘Clara’,” she said, “it’s short for the word ‘clarity’, and it’s Saiyan for ‘bright’ and ‘clear’.”  
“I like that name.  Clara,” Goku said as he looked towards her.  “Alright.  Then it’s settled.  Your name is Clara.”  
            Clara had a huge smile come across her face as she looked towards her brother and friend.  For the first time since she crashed on Earth, Clara felt like she was becoming a whole person again.  She had not only made two friends, but she found her older twin brother, and she discovered that she was a member of the royal Saiyan blood line – the mightiest warrior race.  _Maybe this all happened for a reason,_ she thought as she looked at her brother and Goku bickering back and forth.  _Maybe this is the start of something brand new.  New people.  A new me.  A new life.  A new home.  But they seem like they dedicate their lives to protecting this planet.  What good am I as a Saiyan if I can’t protect it?  What is the point of -_  
            “Hey,” Goku said, interrupting her train of thought, “you alright?”  
“What?  Oh yeah, I’m fine,” she said honestly for the first time.  Vegeta shot her a little smirk as if he knew she was telling the truth this time.  
“What’s on your mind?”  Vegeta asked.  “You looked like you were in deep thought.”  
Clara got ahead of Vegeta and Goku, turned around, and stopped – making them stop as well.  “I want you guys to train me,” she said bluntly.  
“You want us to train you?  Are you sure?”  Goku asked to make sure what he was hearing was correct.  
“Yes,” she replied, “I’m not only a Saiyan.  I’m a Saiyan with royal blood in my veins.  I know I have what it takes to help you guys protect this planet alongside you guys!”  
Vegeta and Goku looked at each other and then back to Clara, and Vegeta had a smirk come across his face.  “It won’t be easy,” Vegeta warned.  
“I know that,” Clara said, “but who knows?  Maybe I already know how to fight.  Maybe training will help me recover some of my memory.”  
“If that’s what you want,” Vegeta began, “then we’re more than happy to help!” Goku said, sounding excited.  
Vegeta shot a glance at Goku.  “I’ll work on the basics with her first, then once she’s learned them good enough, you can help,” Vegeta said.  
“Sweet!”  Clara exclaimed.  “When do we begin?!”  
Vegeta looked up to the red orange sky.  “It’s almost dark.  We’ll start tomorrow.  First thing in the morning.”  
“Hey Clara,” Goku said, “do you have a place to stay?  I might be able to talk Chi Chi into setting up the couch for you.”  
Clara was caught completely off guard.  “Crap!  No, I don’t!”  She said, sounding and looking worried.  
“You can stay with me,” Vegeta said.  A sigh of relief came over Clara, but then the look of worry returned.  “But what about your wife?  I thought she didn’t even want you saving me.  Why would she want me in your house?”  
“You’re my little sister,” Vegeta said, “if she won’t let you stay with us, then she’s not a wife I want.”  
“Well, if things don’t work out, you can always bring her to my house.  I know Chi Chi would be more than happy to help,” Goku said, confidently.  
“Thank you, Goku,” Clara said as she looked over towards him.  
After a few more minutes of walking and having small talk, Clara stopped in the middle of the road they were crossing to go from one side of the sidewalk to the other and stared down the road intersecting the sidewalk.  
“Hey, what’re you...,” Vegeta began, “no, no, no, no!” He yelled as he looked down the road to see what she was looking at.  “I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is ‘no’.  You can’t go down there,” he said as he grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back in the direction that they were walking in.  A little way down the road was a large blue tarp covering what seemed like a large circular shaped object that was wedged in the road.  
            “Is that…?”  Clara started to question in pure shock.  
“Yes.  Now come on.  We have to get out of here,” Vegeta insisted as he continued to try to move his stubborn sister back in the direction they were walking in.  “Kakarot, help me,” he whispered loudly towards Goku.  Goku grabbed her other arm and pulled her back with Vegeta.   
“Holy crap she’s got strong legs,” Goku said as they struggled to pull her away.  
 _Rian Street and 22 nd Street, _she made a mental note of as they dragged her away.  
“Finally,” Vegeta sighed as they got her away from the road and back onto the sidewalk.   
“Whew,” Goku said as he wiped his forehead.  “Well guys, this have been an eventful day, but I have to get going.  The boys and I are going fishing in the morning,” Goku said as he held his index and middle finger up to his forehead.  “See you guys later!”   
            “Why haven’t they moved it?”  Clara asked Vegeta as they kept walking.  
“I wish I knew the answer, but I know that they have it under lock down so that nobody messes with it,” he answered.  He looked over to see his sister’s head hanging down and her arms crossed.  “Are you going to be alright?”  He asked.  
“I’m not sure.  Maybe one day.  Maybe never,” she said truthfully.  She knew there was no point in lying because Vegeta had proven himself to be able to tell when she was lying.  He wrapped his arm around her right shoulder and pulled her into him, bringing her off balance.  “You know, little sister,” he said, “you’re a lot stronger and tougher than you think you are, and with me by your side, there’s nothing you can’t overcome.”  
She pushed Vegeta away from her and quickly composed herself.  “I thought I told you to quit babying me?”  She said as she looked over at him.  
“You can’t stop me from being your big brother,” he said as he looked over at her, “I’m not babying you.  I’m trying to help and protect you – just like a brother should do.  And trust me, once I begin your training, you won’t feel like I’m babying you anymore.”  
“Fine,” she responded, “I’m sorry.  Thank you for being here.  I mean that.”  
“I’m only doing what I’m supposed to,” he said.  
“So how much further do we have to walk?”  She asked.  She looked around and noticed that the sun had gone down more since earlier.  There were almost no cars left on the road – maybe one or two here and there.  
            _I need to get back to the crash site.  There could be something there that could help me remember.  I need to figure out a way to go back,_ she thought.  
“It’s right up here,” Vegeta said as he pointed to a large circular building, “it’s that big house on the right.”  
Clara was taken back at how close she crashed to her brother’s house.  _What was that?  Like a mile-in-a-half?  Maybe two?_   She thought.   
“Wow,” she said in complete shock, “that’s a huge house!”  
“Yeah, my wife’s family owns Capsule Corp,” Vegeta told her.  
“What exactly is Capsule Corp?”  Clara asked curiously as they stood outside the enormous building.  
“They make little capsules that contain cars, houses, and other things inside of them,” Vegeta explained, “they also make the items that go in the capsules.”  
 _Holy shit,_ Clara thought, _he married well._  
“But I may not be living here much longer if this doesn’t go over to well,” he continued as they stared at the house, “stay here.  I’ll be right back.”  
            _Come on Bulma.  Please don’t be a pain in the ass,_ Vegeta thought as he walked up to the giant house.  As he walked through the front door, he could see that the lights were still on in the main living room.  
            “Hey!  Look, mom!  Dad’s back!”  Trunks yelled as Vegeta walked into the room.  
“Well, it’s about time,” Bulma said and she got up from the table.  From what he could see, the two of them were sitting at the table working on Trunks’ English homework.   
“Where have you been, dad?  You missed our training session,” Trunks questioned as he walked towards Vegeta.  
“Sorry, son,” he replied, “I need you to go up to your room.  Your mother and I need to talk.”  
Trunks did as he was told and scurried off to his room as Vegeta watched to make sure he was actually leaving.  Once he was sure that his son was out of hearing range, he walked over to Bulma.  
            “Look,” she began, “if this is about what I said earlier, I still stand by it.”  
“Bulma, I need you to-,” Vegeta started before he was cut off by his wife.  
“If you want my help, I told you want I want in return.”  
Vegeta closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.  “Will you stop for just one minute and listen to me?”  He pleaded.  
“Fine,” she agreed.  
“I’m not asking for your help in reversing the effects of the drug anymore,” he began, “I’m asking for your help in a different way.  Since we had no way of reversing the drug, we did the next best thing – I took her to have a DNA test to see if she had any family on this planet.  I went to Doctor Sosa and had him do it on Capsule Corp’s tab.”  
“You WHAT?”  Bulma asked, shocked.  
Vegeta ignored her and continued to tell the story of the day.  “After Doctor Sosa ran multiple tests on the girl’s DNA, he came to the conclusion that she does have family here.  Long story short, her DNA and mine are 75% similar – making us semi-identical twins.”  
“T-T-Twins?”  Bulma stuttered as she looked at Vegeta with wide eyes.  
“Yes,” he said bluntly, “feel free to talk to Doctor Sosa about it for the full explanation if you’d like.”  
Bulma stood still in her place, looking in shock at Vegeta.  “So…so is that why…you-,” she began.  
“Why I was so determined to find her?”  Vegeta finished the question.  “Yes.  According to Doctor Sosa, it’s something called twin to twin syndrome.”  
Bulma started to walk back over to the table that she and Trunks were sitting at.  “I-I don’t believe this,” she said as she sat down, “how could you not know you have a twin?  And what is she doing on Earth?”  
Vegeta walked over to the same table that his wife was sitting at and sat in the seat next to her.  “I never knew about her,” he stated, “I never heard about her or saw her.  I had no idea she existed until she crashed here, and I had no idea that we were related, let alone twins until a few hours ago.”  
            Bulma sat still in complete shock next to her husband.  _Vegeta’s TWIN?_ She thought.  _This whole time…I’ve been trying to make him let his twin sister DIE?_  
“Where is she?”  Bulma asked as she put her hands on the table and looked down at them.  She felt like she didn’t deserve to make eye contact with Vegeta.  
“Outside,” he replied, “she needs a place to sleep.  Food to eat.  Clothes to wear.”  
“What can I do to help?”  She questioned.  
 _This is weird,_ Vegeta thought. _Earlier, she wouldn’t help at all unless I gave her the divorce she wanted._  
“What?”  He questioned.  
“To help.  What can I do?”  She retorted, this time looking up at him and making eye contact.  
“What do you mean?  Earlier you were reluctant to help unless I gave you the divorce you wanted,” Vegeta reminded her and he placed his hands over hers.  
She looked down to see his hands gently laying on top of hers.  “I was testing you,” she admitted, “I was trying to see if you cared more about your family or some stranger that came crashing to Earth.”  
 _Is she serious?_ Vegeta thought.  _How could she do such a thing?  Why is she so willing now?_  
“Are you kidding me?”  He questioned in utter shock and slight anger.  
“I’m sorry, Vegeta,” she cried, “if I had known that you were related to her, I would have jumped oceans to help save her from those horrible people.  Oh my God.  I was trying to make you let her die!”  She cried out as she took her hands out from underneath Vegeta’s and held them to her mouth so she wouldn’t make any noise.  “I was trying to see if you truly care about your family, but clearly, you do.  You’ve been trying nonstop to save her before you even knew you were related,” she said as tears rolled down her face.  “I’m so sorry.”  
            “She’s fine, Bulma,” Vegeta said as he reached over and pulled her into him.  He put his right hand on the back of her head as she laid her head on his chest and began to rub the back of her head in order to try to get her to stop crying.   
“Go get her,” she said as she began to lift her head up from his chest and pull away from him, “bring her in here.”  
“Are you sure?”  Vegeta asked.  “What do you want in return?”  
“Nothing.  She’s family.  Family helps family.”  
 _Damn,_ Clara thought as she stood outside the house, _it’s so cold out here._ She stood shivering with her arms crossed, trying to warm herself up.  Moments later, the automatic doors opened and Vegeta walked through them.  
“Shit,” he said, “it got cold really fast.”  
“Y-Y-Y-Yeah,” Clara stuttered, “you’re t-t-telling me.”  
“Come on inside,” he said.  
Clara felt a wave of anxiety come over her as she looked inside the giant house.  “Are you sure?”  She asked.  “What about-,”  
“Bulma?”  Vegeta interrupted.  “She’s fine with it.  I told her everything,” he assured her.  
Feeling reassured, Clara followed Vegeta into the house.  _This is so strange,_ she thought.  _Their house.  My brother’s house.  My sister-in-law.  My nephew.  They’ve built their lives here.  I feel like such an intruder._ As they walked into the living room where Bulma was, Clara looked around to see framed pictures of Trunks everywhere, as well as a miniscule amount of family pictures.  Before she knew it, they were walking into the living room.  
            “Bulma,” Vegeta said, “I’d like you to meet my twin sister, Clara.”  
Clara, who was trailing behind Vegeta, came out from behind him to stand next to him.  She looked into the giant living room and saw a gorgeous blue-haired woman sitting at the main table.  _That must be Bulma, Vegeta’s wife,_ she thought.  
“Clara, this is my wife, Bulma,” Vegeta introduced.  Bulma stood up from the table and began to walk towards the brother and sister with her hands over her mouth as if she was trying not to make a sound.  
“Oh my God,” she said, trying to hold back tears, “I’m so sorry,” she said as she took her right hand and held it against Clara’s face, but to her shock, Clara jerked her head back almost instinctually. _Man, she feels really bad,_ Clara thought.  
“Please.  Don’t be upset,” Clara pleaded, “I’m fine.  Vegeta and Goku saved my life.”  
“I’m so happy you’re alright,” Bulma stressed.  “You’re more than welcome to stay here for as long as you want,” Bulma offered.  
“Thank you so much,” Clara replied, accepting her offer.  
“Here, follow me,” Bulma said to Clara.  The two of them walked through the living room as Vegeta stayed and into a large laundry room.  “Here are some fresh clothes for you to sleep in,” Bulma said as she reached into the dryer.  She pulled out an oversized plain black t-shirt, fuzzy, warm red pants, and fresh underwear.  _Those looks so comfortable,_ Clara thought.  
“Thank you,” she said as Bulma handed them over.  
“It’s no problem.  I’m sure you’d like to get out of those hospital scrubs,” Bulma said.  “You and I seem to be about the same size, would you like some clothes to wear for tomorrow?”  
“That would be nice,” Clara said as she folded the sleep clothes over her arm and Bulma went back to look in the dryer.  
“What colors do you like?”  She asked.  
“I’m uh, I’m not sure,” Clara said, sounding embarrassed.  Bulma pulled out a plain dark red t-shirt, a royal blue tank top, a hot pink button up, a black zipper jacket, a pair of black jeans, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of light gray jeans, and some white shorts.  
            _Hmm,_ Clara thought.  _That red reminds me of blood, pink is too girly, and I’m not feeling the shorts._  
“I’ll take the blue tank top, the black jacket, and the gray pants, if that’s okay,” she confirmed.  
“Sure thing!”  Bulma excitedly agreed.  “Would you like some shoes to go with it?”  She asked as she handed the outfit over to Clara along with some more fresh underwear.  
“Uh, sure,” Clara said, “I guess.”  
Clara followed Bulma over to the other side of the laundry room where an entire rack of shoes was.   
“These are all mine,” she said, showing off the rack of shoes.  
“Wow.  So many options,” Clara laughed.  _Wow.  Which ones would go best?_ Clara thought.  _The black sandals?  No.  How about the black boots?  Yes.  Those ones._  
“Can I borrow the black boots right here?”  Clara asked, pointing at the black boots that would go half way up her calf.  
“Absolutely,” Bulma said, “anything else you like?”  
“No.  I think this is good.  Thank you though,” she said with a smile.  
Bulma and Clara began to walk out of the laundry room and walk back towards Vegeta who was still standing in the living room.  
“Tell you what.  I’ll give you $5,000 tomorrow and you can go clothes shopping,” Bulma offered.  
 _What?!  She would seriously do that?_ Clara thought.  
“No, no,” Clara said, “you don’t have to do that.  Really.”  
“What’re you gonna do?  Wear one outfit for your entire life?”  Bulma joked.  “Seriously $5,000 is nothing.”  
“There’s no use in arguing with her,” Vegeta butted in, “you might as well not even try.”  
Clara looked at her brother and then back at Bulma, “Fine,” she sighed, “don’t think I’m not gonna pay you back though!”  
“Glad to hear it,” Bulma said with a smile, “Oh, and Vegeta, since I don’t have the cash on hand and I’m busy tomorrow, you’re gonna have to go with her and use your credit card.  They won’t let her use mine because it has my name on it.”  
“What?!  I have to go shopping?  Are you serious?  No way!”  Vegeta expressed, sounding aggravated.  
“Come on!  It can be a brother and sister, bonding experience.  And I promise, we’ll train for as long as you want to afterwards,” Clara pleaded, “are you really going to let your little sister go without clothes?”  She questioned him in an attempt to guilt trip her older brother.  
 _Women and shopping.  They become completely different beings when they shop.  They become vultures,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Gah,” Vegeta said, showing his reluctance, “Fine.  I’ll go.  Only because you’re my little sister.”  
“Thank you,” Clara said with a smile to her brother.  
“Hang on.  Younger?”  Bulma questioned.  “How do you know she’s younger?”  
“My DNA is younger than his is,” Clara answered, “strange.  I know.”  
“There’s no way to tell if there’s an age difference in DNA unless it’s months or years old.  Twins are usually only hours apart at most,” Bulma explained.  
“When I say ‘little sister’, I mean that she’s younger than me,” Vegeta stated, “by twenty years.  She’s technically only twenty-three.”  
“TWENTY YEARS?!”  Bulma yelled.  “How is there a twenty-year age difference?!”  
Clara and Vegeta looked at each other and then back to Bulma.  “We have no idea,” Clara said, “Doctor Sosa said he was going to research it some more.”  
“I have to arrange a meeting with him,” Bulma insisted, “remind me call him first thing in the morning,” she said to Vegeta.  
Vegeta nodded his head in understanding.  _Hopefully they’ll be able to figure out what’s going on with this age thing,_ Vegeta thought.  
Just then, Clara let out a long yawn, and almost fell over where she was standing out of exhaustion.  
“Woah,” Vegeta said as he stopped her from face planting on the floor, “are you alright?”  
“Yeah,” she said as she perked her head back up, “just sleepy.”  She let out another long yawn.  
“Will you take her up to one of the spare rooms?”  Bulma asked Vegeta.  
“Yeah, of course,” he agreed.  He put his hand on Clara’s back to make sure she walked straight and didn’t fall over.  “This way,” he said as he headed into one of the elevators.”  
“Wow,” Clara said, tiredly.  “There’s elevators in here?”  
“There are three floors in total – not including the basement,” Vegeta informed her.  “The bedrooms are on the second floor.  I’m gonna give you one of the spare rooms close to our room in case you need something.”  
Clara looked up at her brother from her tired slumped over state.  “Again with the babying me thing,” she managed to say right before another yawn.  
“Alright fine.  If that’s what you want to call me being a good brother to you, then fine,” Vegeta said, ultimately giving in, “but just remember, you won’t feel that way when I begin your training tomorrow.”  
As they stepped off the elevator, the began walking through a long, curved hallway.  After a few seconds, they came across a room.  Vegeta opened the door and inside was a California King sized bed freshly made up, a balcony that overlooked the city lights, an enormous walk-in closet, and a huge bathroom suite.  
“Holy shit!”  Clara exclaimed, with her eyes wide open and all tiredness seemingly disappeared.  
 _This room is absolutely gorgeous!_ She thought.  _It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before…or is it?  Oh shut up, Clara.  Now is not the time for your self-pity party._  
“And this’ll be your room,” Vegeta stated with a chuckle, “I guess you like it, huh?”  
“It’s amazing!  That bed looks so comfortable.  I’ll probably never get out of it,” she joked.  
“Do you want me to show you how to use the shower?”  Vegeta asked.  “Using other people’s showers is always weird.”  
She let out a slight chuckle, “Sure.”  
They walked over to the bathroom and Vegeta showed her where the towels were and how to use the shower knobs.  Once he was through showing her how to use the shower, they both walked back over to the door leading out into the hallway.  
“Well,” Clara said, “I guess this is it.  My first actual night on a planet I know nothing about,” she laughed.  
A small smile came across Vegeta’s face along with a slight chuckle, “you’ll be fine,” he said, “if you need anything, Bulma and I are right down there,” he said as he pointed at the third door on the right from Clara’s room.  “I’m a light sleeper.  Just knock on the door, and I’ll wake up.”  
“Okay,” she said, “thank you.”  
Vegeta could tell that there was something that was bothering her.  He could tell by the way she responded that she was scared of something.  
“Hey.  Are you alright?”  Vegeta quietly questioned his twin.  
“Yeah, why do you ask?”  She counter-questioned him, sounding suspicious.  
“I saw the way you jerked away when Bulma reached her hand up to you earlier,” Vegeta admitted.  
 _Damn.  He saw that?  Who am I kidding?  Of course he saw that,_ Clara thought.  
She didn’t answer him, rather, she just looked down to her feet, and Vegeta placed his left hand on her right shoulder.  “And I noticed how now that I’m not going to be next to you, you seem frightened.”  
 _Being a twin sucks sometimes.  I can’t hide anything from him._  
Vegeta bent down in order to make eye contact with her.  “He’s dead, Clara,” he assured her, “they can’t hurt you anymore.  Not now, not ever again.”  
“Do you promise?”  She whispered, barely loud enough for Vegeta to hear.  
“I promise,” he said, confidently.  “As your brother, I would die before I let anyone or anything hurt you like that again.  I have no problem sacrificing myself for my loved ones.  Do you understand?”  
“Yeah,” she said quietly, “I understand.  And the same thing goes for you.”  
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said with a smile coming across his face.  “Well, you should probably get a shower and get some sleep.  We have a long day tomorrow.”  
“Right,” she said as she nodded her head.  Vegeta closed the door and began to walk down the hallway towards his and Bulma’s room.  
            _She’ll be fine,_ he thought.  _She’s a Saiyan.  She’s strong.  Not only that, but she’s-_  
Vegeta was pulled out of his train of thought by his nine-year-old son.  
“Hey dad!”  Trunks yelled as Vegeta walked by his room.  Vegeta stopped, turned back, and walked to Trunks’ doorway and saw his young son siting on his bed, holding a video game controller and wearing a headset.  “Hey Goten, I have to go,” he said into the microphone, “I’ll talk to you later.”  He took off the headset and put down the controller.  “Hey dad, what’s up with that girl?”  He questioned.  
“How do you know about her?”  Vegeta asked, sounding a little aggravated.  
“I overheard you, mom, and her talking,” Trunks confessed as he pointed to an air conditioning vent in the floor.  
            _Damn,_ Vegeta thought, _he must be able to listen to what goes on in the living room through that._  
“So?  Who is she?  Why is she staying here?”  He repeated.  
“How much did you hear?”  Vegeta asked as he began to walk into his son’s room.  
“All I heard is that she’s going to be staying here,” Trunks answered, “I got curious when Goten went to the bathroom, so I decided to try to listen.  You see it in the movies, but it’s much harder in person – everything’s all muffled.”  
            _It would have been easier if he would have heard everything,_ Vegeta thought, _then I wouldn’t have to figure out how to explain it._  
“Trunks,” he began as he moved the controller aside, and sat on the edge of his son’s bed, “there’s a lot you should know, but not right now,” Vegeta said as he looked over to his son.  
“Oh, come on, dad!”  Trunks exclaimed, sounding annoyed, “I know there’s something going on!  You can’t keep it from me!”  Trunks complained.  
 _Even if I were to make him wait, what difference would it make?  I’d still be telling him the exact same thing,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Fine,” Vegeta said as he looked away from his son, “she’s the girl from before.”  
“Wait.  What?!”  Trunks exclaimed as he leaned forward towards his dad.  “She’s the girl from the crash?!”  
“Yes,” Vegeta confirmed, “but there’s more to it.  Some of which you won’t understand.”  
“So then tell me what I will understand,” Trunks replied.  
Vegeta looked back towards his son again and tried to figure out how he could explain what he had found out in the simplest way.  
“We’re family,” he finally said.  
“F-F-Family?”  Trunks stuttered, looking shocked.  “That girl is – family?”  
Vegeta nodded his head and looked back away from his son.  “More than that – she and I are twins.”  
Trunks sat there in silence for a few seconds with his mouth ajar.  _That girl is my dad’s TWIN?_ He thought.  _This has to be some sort of joke.  There’s no way._  
Vegeta looked back at his son as if he were making sure he was still there.  “Are…are you sure?”  Trunks asked.  “How do you know?”  
“As I said.  There’s a lot you won’t understand, but all you need to know is that I took her to Doctor Sosa to get a DNA test done to see if she had any family on this planet,” Vegeta began.  “Since I’m high in the chain of command at Capsule Corp, there was already a sample of my blood.  When he ran it, it came back a match.”  
 “Maybe there was a mistake or something,” Trunks suggested, “come on, dad.  She can’t be your twin!  You would have known.  Doctor Sosa is nothing more than a normal doctor!”  
Vegeta shook his head in disagreement with his son.  “Doctor Sosa is a normal doctor.  Yes.  But he’s also an expert in DNA and genetics,” he admitted, “there’s no mistake.”  
Trunks sat still and quiet for a few moments and let all the news sink in. “So,” he started, “how did you not know you had a twin?”  
“It’s just as I said, Trunks.  There’s a lot you won’t understand,” Vegeta said as he looked back towards his son.  
 _How could I possibly try to explain what even I don’t know?_ Vegeta asked himself.  “Go get ready for bed,” he told his son, “It’s almost nine o’clock and you have school tomorrow.”  
Without debate, Trunks got off his bed and walked over towards his bathroom to get a shower and brush his teeth.  Before he entered the bathroom, he turned around to see his dad still sitting on his bed.  
            “I wanna meet her,” he said.  
“You will. Just not tonight.”  
As father and son stared at each other for a few seconds, Trunks turned and finished entering the bathroom.  “Good night, dad,” he said as he closed the door.  
“Night, son,” Vegeta replied as he stood up from his son’s bed.  
            Down the hall, Clara stood in the unfamiliar bathroom and looked in the large mirror.  “Damn, girl,” she said to herself, “you’re looking a little rough.”  In the mirror, looking back at her was a girl who had the potential to be beautiful, but right now that was not the case.  In the mirror was a young, fit, tan skinned girl with jet black hair and onyx eyes; however, as she pulled her hair down from the hair tie Goku had given her earlier, she was forced to tear some of her hair out with it.  _Son of a bitch,_ she thought as she ripped a small chunk of her hair out.  Once her hair was down, she saw the matted, dirty, rat’s nest that laid on top of her head.  
“Holy shit,” she mumbled.  As she began to examine her face in the mirror, she noticed a few more things.  _Hah,_ she thought, _I guess I do kinda look like Vegeta._ As she turned her head from one side to the other, she noticed tiny holes in her ears – one in each cartilage and two in each lobe.  _Are my ears…pierced?_ She asked herself.  _Why don’t I have earrings in them?  Why didn’t Dende close them up when he healed me?_ She wondered.  _Oh well, now I’ll just have to buy some._  
            As she walked away from the mirror and towards the shower, she remembered what Vegeta told her.  “Turn the knob closest to the wall to the right, for the hot water, the other one to the left for cold water, and pull the lever up for the shower head,” she remembered him saying to her.  She reached over the shower and turned the knob closest to the wall all the way.  As hot water came rushing out of the faucet, she reached for the other one and turned it halfway in order to mix the water and make it warm.  As the water mixed, she undressed herself and threw the dirty, old scrubs she had been wearing into the hamper.  _If I ever wear something like that again, it’ll be too soon,_ she thought.  She pulled the lever up to get the shower head to come on and stepped into the warm shower.  As the warm water rained down on her, she felt rejuvenated.  _It feels everything that happened to me is just being washed away down the drain,_ she thought.  _Now, something for my hair._ She looked around the shower and noticed brand new, giant bottles of shampoo and conditioner.  _Perfect,_ she thought.  As she opened up the bottles, she smelled them to see what they smelled like, “Mmm,” she mumbled to herself, “that smells amazing.”  She looked at the labels on the bottles to see what the name of the scent was.  The label read, “Peppermint.”  _I think I have a favorite smell,_ she said.  She put a good amount of the shampoo in her hand and began to rub it through her wet, knotted hair.  _I don’t get it,_ she thought.  _How is that I know how to do things like eat, go to the bathroom, take a shower, get dressed, and all those other seemingly normal things, but I can’t even remember my old name or anything of my past.  I have to have learned all of those things from SOMEWHERE._  
As she finished washing her body and washed her hair twice – two cycles of shampoo and conditioner, she turned off the water, grabbed the towel sitting on the counter, and stepped out of the shower.  As she wrapped the towel around her, she stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror again.  “There she is,” Clara said to herself with a smile, “that’s much better.”  
Before, her hair was dirty, knotted and matted like a rat’s nest, but now, thanks to the amazing smelling shampoo and conditioner, her hair was long, smooth, and amazing smelling.  “I should do something about the eyebrows,” she confessed to herself, “maybe Bulma will help me.  That’s one thing I can’t remember how to do.”  Clara finished drying herself off and put the fresh pajamas that Bulma gave her on.  _Holy shit these are comfortable,_ she thought as she finished putting the fuzzy red pants on.  As she stared into the mirror, she saw a brand new toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and mouth wash sitting on the sink.  _This is what I mean.  How do I know what brushing my teeth means?_ She questioned herself.  _God, Clara.  You’re so strange._ She picked up the toothbrush, wet it, put toothpaste on it, and began to brush her teeth.  After a few minutes went by she rinsed her mouth out and began to floss her teeth.  After getting all of the gunk in between her teeth out, she took a cup of the mouthwash and swished it around her mouth.  “Oh my God that burns,” she cried as the cold air hit her mouth.  She looked at the label and saw that the flavor was “Cool Mint”.  “No more of that flavor,” she told herself.  After she finished brushing her teeth, she turned out the bathroom light, closed the door behind her, and walked over to the giant sized bed.  As she laid down, she felt like she was laying on a cloud.  _I’m never going to get out of this bed.  They’ll have to drag me out,_ she thought as she wrapped herself up in the blankets.  Even though she was comfortable for the first time since she crashed, she still wasn’t able to fall asleep.  
 _Rian and 22 nd Street, _she thought, _I have to go see what’s down there._   As she tossed and turned for a little while, she kept thinking to herself if it was worth it to sneak out and wander around a world she knew nothing about.  _Perhaps I could convince Vegeta to go with me.  Or maybe I should just go now._ After a few seconds, she realized that it wouldn’t be smart to sneak out of the house she had been invited to live in.  _It’s my first night here,_ she thought, _better not bite the hand that feeds.  Vegeta seemed pretty adamant about not letting me go down there._ A few minutes more of tossing and turning resulted in her finding a comfortable position to sleep in.  As she laid there in the giant sized bed on her left side with her right arm under her pillow to support her head, she began to drift off to sleep.  _I shouldn’t go down there alone.  I’ve finally found a place where I feel like I belong…I’d hate to lose it,_ she finally thought to herself as her eyes became heavy and she drifted off into a deep sleep.


	15. Clara Saga - Part Fifteen

**PART FIFTEEN: BONDING**

**"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." – Abraham Lincoln**

 

As the morning sun began to rise, everyone in the large house was asleep except for two people – Bulma and Trunks.  It was seven o’clock in the morning, and Trunks had to get ready for school which started at eight.  Upstairs, however, Clara was still in the spare room – her new room, fast asleep, and Vegeta was still asleep in the bed he shared with Bulma.  As the two twin Saiyans were upstairs still fast asleep, Bulma and Trunks sat at the dining room table eating breakfast and going over Trunks’ homework.  As Trunks picked at the scrambled eggs on his plate, Bulma could easily tell that something was bothering him.  
            “Hey, Trunks,” she said to get his attention, “what’s wrong?”  
Trunks didn’t look up at his mother who was sitting across the table from him.  “Is that girl really dad’s twin?”  He asked, still picking at his food.  
“So I see your dad told you,” Bulma realized.  
“No,” Trunks said, still looking down, “I overheard a little bit of the conversation through the AC vent – about her staying here.  I asked him about her before I went to sleep.”  
Bulma reached over to stop her young son from picking at his food.  When she grabbed the top of his fork, he was forced to stop, and he looked up at her.  
“Yes, Trunks,” she said, “she is.  Is there something wrong with that?”  She wondered.  
“No,” he said as he looked back down and shook his head, “it’s just weird to me.  That’s all.”  
Bulma let out a slight laugh and a smile crept up on her face.  “We’re in the same boat, pal,” she laughed.  “Hurry up and finish eating.  You don’t want to be late for school,” she said with a smile.  
Trunks looked back up at his mom and grinned.  “Right,” he said with a nod.  
            After Trunks finished gobbling up his food, he grabbed his backpack, and began to dart out the front door.  As soon as he opened the door, he noticed the heavy downfall of rain, thunder, and lightening.  _Maybe I shouldn’t fly in this weather,_ he thought.  _I just got these clothes, and I don’t wanna be cold all day._  
            “Uh, hey mom,” he said as he yelled back into the dining room.  
“What’s up?”  She asked as she walked towards Trunks, “Oh,” she said as she noticed the terrible weather.  “Come on.  I’ll drive you.”  
She grabbed the umbrella by the front door and a set of car keys sitting on the small table next to it.  She opened the umbrella and they both darted out into the rain and ran towards the garage on the right side of the house.  The time was now seven-thirty-five and it was a twenty-minute drive to the school with normal traffic – even longer with all the rain.  
            “I’m gonna be late,” Trunks said as he looked out the window at the rain.  
“Yeah,” Bulma said as she examined the slow traffic around her, “maybe by a few minutes.”  
 _Gosh,_ Bulma thought, _this traffic needs to hurry up.  I need to make my way over to see Doctor Sosa to help figure out this age thing._  
“So mom,” Trunks said as he leaned his seat all the way back, “why is she staying with us?”  
Bulma looked over at her relaxed son.  “Your dad didn’t tell you?”  
“All he said was that she was the girl from the crash and they found out that they’re twins.  He didn’t go into much detail.”  
“Well,” Bulma began, “she doesn’t remember anything.”  
“What do you mean?!”  Trunks exclaimed as he sat up on his elbows.  
“She doesn’t know her real name, or anything of her past,” Bulma confessed.  
“But didn’t she grow up with dad?  I thought they were twins,” Trunks said, sounding confused.  
“They are, but something must have happened because he had never met her before,” Bulma tried to clarify.  
“Wow,” Trunks said as he looked down, “that must suck.  Not knowing your own name or your past.”  
“It’s not like she doesn’t have a name,” Bulma said with a smile towards her son, trying to get him to cheer up.  “Vegeta told me that he came up with the name Clara, and she liked it, so that’s what we’re calling her.”  
“Clara,” Trunks whispered.  “Aunt Clara,” he said with a laugh and a grin.  
After fifteen minutes or so of some aggravating traffic and some small talk, Bulma and Trunks finally arrived at his school.  
“Hey, not bad,” Trunks said as he looked at the clock on the radio, “only five minutes late.”  
“Yeah.  And of course it would stop raining as soon as we got here.  Are you going to fly home after school?”  Bulma asked as Trunks got his backpack from the backseat.  
“No,” he said as he checked to make sure everything was in his bag, “Goten invited me over for dinner tonight.  I’ll be home after that.”  
“Well, alright son,” Bulma said as Trunks went to get out of the car, “I’ll see you then.”  
Trunks opened the car door and jumped out.  As he began running to his class, Bulma hung her head out the driver’s side window.  “Be careful!”  She yelled.  He didn’t say a word.  Instead, he just turned his head back, kept running, and waved at his mom with a smile on his face.   
“Time to get a hold of Doctor Sosa,” she said to herself as she rolled up her window.  She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Doctor Sosa’s number.  As she drove off, she heard an answer from the other end.  
            “Okuda Sosa speaking.  How can I help you?”  
“Doctor Sosa,” Bulma began, “this is Bulma Brief.”  
“Oh, Mrs. Brief!”  He exclaimed on the other end.  “What can I do for you?”  
“Do you remember the DNA test you ran on that girl that Vegeta brought in?”  She questioned him.  
“Yes, ma’am, I do.  What about it?”  
“Well, Vegeta told me that somehow there’s a twenty-year age difference in their DNA,” Bulma informed the doctor.  
“Yes…that’s correct,” he said, sounding a little worried, “I haven’t been able to figure out what’s causing it yet.”  
“That’s why I’m calling you.  Do you think it would be possible for me to take a look at it?”  Bulma questioned.  
“I can’t do that, Mrs. Brief,” Doctor Sosa explained, “I could lose my medical license and possibly be arrested.”  
“What?”  Bulma replied, sounding surprised.  “Why?”  
“It’s an ethical dilemma,” the doctor said, “if DNA that is entrusted in my care ends up in the hands of someone who isn’t properly trained in experimenting on it, the board believes that terrible things could come out of it.”  
“Such as what?”  Bulma questioned.  
“Genetic mutations, bio-chemical weapons, etcetera,” he listed, “besides, I didn’t even think you were trained in DNA experimentations.”  
“Oh really?  I thought you knew!”  She exclaimed.  “When I first got with Vegeta, he would get sick all the time, but no medicine I gave him ever helped,” she began to explain, “he wouldn’t get sick like normal people.  When he would get a cold, instead of a stuffy nose and the normal signs, he would lose his ability to fly, and if he was able to fly, he would have no control over his movements.  My ex-boyfriend can also fly as well, but since he got sick all the time with colds, and it never affected his flying abilities, I assumed getting colds affected Vegeta in that way because he’s a Saiyan.”  
“Right,” he chuckled, “I forgot about the whole Saiyan alien thing”  
Bulma laughed as she continued on with her story.  “Then I decided to read up on DNA and differences in DNA between different species.  Then I took some of his alien DNA and formulated a new medicine for him that only works on Saiyans.”  
“Well, then couldn’t you just get the DNA samples from blood from Vegeta and his sister?”  He questioned suspiciously.  
“I can’t, unfortunately,” she said, sounding sad, “I have no clue where they are.  After I told her that I was unable to help her gain her memory back, she stormed off, crying hysterically.  Vegeta chased after her, and I haven’t seen either one since, and I would really like to give them some good news whenever they decide to return – if they decide to return.”  
“That’s heartbreaking to hear,” Doctor Sosa said, sounding unhappy, “I guess I was wrong.  Swing by my clinic, and I’ll give you half of her’s and Vegeta’s DNA.”  
 “Sounds good.  See you in a few,” she said as she hung up the phone.  
 _Good job, Bulma,_ she thought to herself.  _Way to lie your ass off._

 

_**"A sibling may be the keeper of one's identity, the only person with the keys to one's unfettered, more fundamental self." – Marian Sandmaier** _

 

As eight-thirty rolled around, Clara was still sound asleep, lying comfortably and wrapped up in the blankets in the California King sized bed, and Vegeta, who was starting to like the big brother role even more, was about to ruin her comfortability.  
 _Wait a second,_ he thought as he stood outside her bedroom door, about to walk in.  _Perhaps I shouldn’t scare her awake.  She probably has some underlying trauma.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t annoy her awake._ A smirk came across his face as he anticipated what he was going to do to wake her up.  Vegeta reached for the silver door handle and opened the door to his younger twin sister’s room.  In the bed he saw her lying wrapped up in the warm blankets.  As he got closer, he could see how peaceful Clara looked as she slept, and he could hear how silent her breathing was.  _She looks like she feels safe here,_ Vegeta thought as he stood next to her bed, silently.  Even though her hair was in knots, and her mouth was slightly open, she still looked more relaxed than Vegeta would have imagined.  _How is it that she can be so…relaxed?  After everything she’s gone through, I can’t imagine that she could just lay here so…open._  
            “You have yet to cease to amaze me, little sister,” he mumbled under his breath that even he could barely hear.  “When I was haunted by memories of Frieza, I was never able to get an actual good night’s sleep.  Yet you, you went through and are still going through more torture than I ever did, and here you are, sound asleep, completely relaxed in a house full of people you’ve never met,” he said as he continued to look at her, still fast asleep.  “You had no idea who we were.  We could have been partners with the very people who cause you so much pain.  Yet, you trusted us.  You truly are brave, Clara.  Just like a Saiyan Princess should be.”  Instead of annoying her to the point where she woke up like he had originally planned, Vegeta let her sleep, and slowly walked back out of her room, cautiously closing the door behind him.  What Vegeta didn’t see though was the smile that crept across his sleeping sister’s face as he closed the door behind him.  
            As Vegeta closed the door, she opened her eyes for the first time since she fell asleep.  A few seconds later, she jumped out of the bed, went to the balcony overlooking the city, and examined the world around her.  As she leaned over the railing, she watched as the cars drove by down the busy street, and the different kinds of people walking down the street minding their own business and going about their daily lives.  _Wow,_ she thought, _this is all so surreal.  All these people just leading their own lives – doing things that they had planned with other people – living out their lives._ To the people of the city, it felt like a normal day, but to Clara, the feeling of waking up in a new world, was much like the feeling of waking up in a hotel room in a new city after a long flight.   
“I guess I should probably get dressed,” she said to herself as she turned back in towards the room.  She looked over to the dresser where she had sat the fresh clothes that Bulma gave her, and smiled.  _Vegeta sure is lucky to have her,_ she thought.  _I wonder if I’ll be able to find someone to spend the rest of my life with._  
            She walked over to the dresser, picked up the blue tank top she had picked out and held it up to her body.  _I can’t wait to get my own clothes,_ she thought.  She took off her pajamas and began to put on the tank top.  “A tank top and bra in one?”  She questioned.  “How convenient.”  As she slipped the tank top over her head and pulled it down her stomach, she was able to see the perfection of her body.  “Damn girl,” she said as she looked in the mirror, “active, are we?”  She then proceeded to put on the gray jeans that she had picked out to go with the tank top.  _See?  This is another thing,_ she thought.  _How the hell do I know how to match colors or even dress myself?_ She looked in the mirror and saw her horrible bed head.  _Holy shit.  I have to fix this.  There must be a brush around here somewhere._ As she looked around the room, her search for the brush turned up empty.  _Damn, oh well.  I’m sure Bulma has one in her room._ Ignoring her horrible bed head, she grabbed the black zipper jacket and the boots that she had picked out to go with her new outfit.  _It’s too warm in here to put this on, and Bulma seems like the kind of person who doesn’t like shoes being worn in the house,_ she thought.  _I’ll just carry these down to the living room with me._ She threw the jacket over her left shoulder, carried the boots in her right hand and opened the door with her left.  As she opened the door, her stomach began to growl.  _God.  I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,_ she thought.  _Damn Saiyan appetite._ As she closed the door behind her and began to walk down the hallway, she could smell a marvelous scent.  _What could that be?_ She wondered.   
As she got down into the living room that was connected to the dining room, she saw the entire dining room table covered with freshly made breakfast foods.  In utter shock at the sight of the amount of food, she placed her boots down by the entryway and hung her jacket up on the hook.  At the table, there were two spots with empty plates.  On one of the empty spots, a piece of paper folded in half that read “Clara” on the front of it stood up, slightly opened.  She walked over to the place where the card stood, and opened it up.  Inside was unusually neat handwriting.  
“Clara,” it read, “I was unsure of what kind of food you liked, so I had Chef Kunio make a variety.  Go ahead and help yourself.  I know you’re hungry – especially because you have a Saiyan appetite.  I’m doing some pre-breakfast training.  I’ll come join you in a bit.  Vegeta.”  
As she folded the note back up and sat it back down on the table, she let out a slight chuckle.  “I think I might have the best brother in the entire world,” she said to herself.   
            “What should I dig into first _?”_ She asked herself.  “It all smells so wonderful.”  
Covering the table was a variety of breakfast foods including bacon, eggs, chicken, steaks vegetables, fruits, cereals, milk, coffee, water, and several types of juice.  However, all but the water, chicken, vegetables, and fruit were unfamiliar to Clara.  _All this food…I’ve never seen it before,_ she thought to herself, _but it all smells so wonderful._ She decided to take a risk, picked up one of the plates in front of her, and picked out a few pieces of bacon, a small portion of scrambled eggs, and some water.  As she finished picking out her food, she sat down in the empty spot where the note had been sitting.  She picked up the fork that was to the left of her plate with her left hand.  “How do I know how to use this _?”_ She questioned herself as she stared at the fork in her left hand.  
“It’s called muscle memory,” a familiar voice from behind her said.  She turned around and looked at her brother standing in the entryway with a wet towel around his next.  
“Muscle memory?”  She asked curiously.  
“You’ve never hear of-,” he began before he stopped himself, realizing what he was about to ask.  “It’s where your body learns to do things subconsciously that have been practiced over and over,” he explained and he walked over to his seat.  
“So, is that how I can-,” she began.  
“Talk?  Eat?  Shower?  Read?” He finished her question.  “Yes,” he answered.  He looked at his sister and decided that it was an appropriate time to start picking on her.  “Nice hair,” he said, poking fun at his little sister’s bed head, but she seemed to ignore his joke.  
“Huh,” she said as she put her fork into a few of the eggs on her plate, “interesting.”  
She took the eggs and put them into her mouth.  
“So?”  Vegeta questioned as he watched her chew them.  Her eyes opened wide as she finished eating them.  
“Those…are disgusting!”  She exclaimed.  
Vegeta looked at her in shock.  “Are you serious?”  He asked.  
“They tasted like salty, yellow, mush,” she said as she drank the water, trying to get the taste out of her mouth.  
“Here,” he said putting a piece of his bacon on his fork, “try this.”  
She looked at him with a distrustful face.  “It’s called bacon,” he explained as he held his arm over the table, trying to hand her the fork.  “It’s good.  I promise.”  
She let out a slight groan as she reached her hand across the table to get the fork from her brother.  “You’d better not be lying to me,” she said as she looked at the food on the fork.  
“You have my word,” he said, “you’re gonna love it.”  
She put the bacon in her mouth and as she finished chewing it, it was very clear that she enjoyed it.  
“Holy shit,” she said, “that’s amazing!”  
“Told ya,” Vegeta said with a smirk on his face, “it’s one of my favorite foods.”  He went back to his piled up plate full of a little bit of everything on the table.  Clara, on the other hand, took the remaining bacon, a few vegetables and a few pieces of fruit.  
“I can tell which one’s your favorite,” he said with a slight chuckle.  
She took a handful of bacon and shoved them into her mouth.  “Is it that obvious?”  She asked with a mouth full of bacon.  
“No.  Not at all,” he answered sarcastically, looking at his sister’s full mouth.  
“We should probably go get ready,” Vegeta said as they both finished up the food.  
“Right,” she agreed, “I need to figure out what to do with this hair,” she said, remembering how bad her bed head was.  
“Bulma has a thousand brushes in our room.  I’ll grab you one.”  
As they both walked back upstairs, Clara followed her big brother until they came upon his and Bulma’s room.  As Vegeta kept walking, Clara stopped in the doorway.  
“You can come in, ya know,” he said, looking back at his sister.  
She nodded and followed suit behind him.  As he opened each dresser drawer one by one looking for a brush, he accidently opened the wrong one.  
“Nice condoms,” Clara said with a laugh.  He quickly closed the drawer back as if it would take the picture out of Clara’s head.  
“That damn woman,” he said under his breath, “why did she have to move them?”  
“A little embarrassed, are we?”  Clara said, jokingly.  Vegeta gave her a slight smirk as he came up with a smart ass remark.  
“So you know what condoms are, but not your old name.  Says a lot about you,” he picked at her.  
She laughed with an unamused laugh.  “Why do you have them anyways?”  She asked as they continued to look for an extra hair brush.  
“So you know what they are, but not what they’re for?”  He asked her suspiciously.  
“I know what they’re for.  I’m not stupid,” she said, “but why do you need them?”  
“Trunks, our son, wasn’t planned.  I’m not trying to have another,” he confessed.  “Especially now that I found out that I have a twin, I’m really not gonna risk it.”  
She shot him a confused look.  “What does being a twin have to do with anything?”  
“People who are twins have a higher chance of having twins,” he explained, “I wasn’t even planning on having a kid.”  
“Well, from what I heard, Bulma’s a bit baby crazy, if you know what I mean,” she said as she nudged her brother’s right shoulder.  
 _That damn woman,_ he thought, _that’s probably why she hid them._  
“Here you go,” Vegeta said as he handed a brush that he found to Clara, changing the subject.  
“Sweet,” she said as she took it from him, “I’ll go finish getting ready.”  
            She walked out of Bulma’s room and back to her new room.  She fixed her hair up with the help of the borrowed hair brush and some water.  “There,” she said to herself, “much better.”  As she brushed her teeth and used the horrible mouth wash again, her excitement for shopping with her brother grew higher.  After she was completely dressed and ready, she met up with Vegeta downstairs.  
            “Ready?”  He asked as soon as she walked into the living room.  He was standing against the wall with his arms crossed and his head leaned back.  
“You’re wearing that?”  She asked.  She saw that he was wearing a long sleeve blue shirt, blue pants, a gold and white vest, white gloves, and white boots.  “What happened to the sweats from earlier?”  
“I trained in those,” he replied, “this is much more comfortable.”  
She shrugged her shoulders and turned to get her jacket and her boots from the dining room.  She grabbed the jacket and zipped it halfway up.  
“Shit,” she said.  
“What’s wrong?”  Vegeta asked, sounding concerned.  
“I don’t have any socks to wear with these,” she said, holding the boots up.  
“Just a second,” he said.  Vegeta jogged up the stairs and went to his and Bulma’s room to get an extra pair of his socks.  “Here,” he said as he got back downstairs and handed them to Clara, “they’re my boot socks, so they won’t fall down as you walk.”  After grabbing them from her brother, she put them on followed by the boots.  
“So where to?”  She asked as they walked towards the front door.  
“Wherever you wanna go, I guess,” he said as the door opened, “there’s a mall that has a lot of different stores a few blocks down that way,” he said as he pointed his finger to the right.  
“Lead the way,” Clara said with a smile as she motioned for her brother to start walking.  
 _I can’t believe I got suckered into this,_ he thought, _this better not be an all-day adventure._  
“Thanks for doing this for me,” she said as they continued to walk.  
Vegeta looked over to his sister who was on his right side, away from the road and then he looked back straight ahead.  “You can thank me by not taking all day,” he said.  
“Wow,” she said, taken back, “hostile today, are we?”  
“I don’t like being surrounded by a lot of Earthlings for hours,” he explained, “Bulma spends hours on end in these places.”  
“How?”  She questioned.  “All you do is buy clothes and leave, right?  That shouldn’t take more than an hour at most.”  
“Exactly,” he agreed, “but the Earthlings have a weird habit of trying on every piece of clothing they like in every store they go in to – even if they can’t afford it.”  
She looked at him with a confused look.  “Earthlings seem like strange creatures,” she said.  
“You got that right,” he replied.  
“Well, I can assure you that I’m not going to take all day,” she said as they rounded the corner, “the clothes that Bulma let me borrow are a size small and they’re a little tight, so I probably need to go up one size.”  
 _Good,_ Vegeta thought, _at least she knows what size she is._  
“Here we are,” he said as the came up on a huge four story building.  
“Wow,” Clara is in shock, “that place is huge.”  
Vegeta nodded his head.  “Yeah.  Now let’s hurry this up.”  
            As the automatic doors opened, and they walked through, Clara was shocked by the enormity of the building.  Straight ahead was a giant fountain, and behind that were four sets up escalators – two going up, and two going down.  To the right, was a huge open food court with six different restaurants.  To the left was a lounge area that had a large plasma screen television hanging from the ceiling, couches, and recliners.  
“Good, God,” she said, clearly still taking in everything that was in front of her.  
“Come on,” Vegeta said as he continued to walk, “let’s get this over with.”  
“Right,” she said as she snapped out of her daze and jogged to catch up with her brother.  
 _Wow.  This is all so much.  There are so many stores in here,_ she thought.  
“So, which one of these stores are we going to go to?”  She asked as she continued to look all around her.  
“Pick one,” he answered.  “There’s a sport’s store upstairs on the right.”  
“Let’s go there,” she said happily, “I need some clothes to train in, don’t I?”  
He nodded his head in agreement and they got on the escalator to go to the second floor.  Vegeta sighed in aggravation.  “You know.  It would be a lot more convenient if you could fly,” he said.  
“I might be able to,” she chuckled, “you never know what I know.  Hell, I might even be stronger than you are!”  She joked.  
Vegeta looked over at her with a smirk, “Oh, I doubt that,” he proudly said.  As they reached the second floor and began to walk off the escalator, their attention was caught by a group of guys from the floor below catcalling at Clara.  The twins looked at each other and then looked down over the railing at the group below them.  They didn’t appear to be older than twenty years old, and it was easy to tell that Vegeta was more upset about the rude gesture than Clara was.  
            “Hey morons!” He yelled down at the guys.  “If you think you’re such hotshots, why don’t you come up here and try to talk to my little sister instead of catcalling her?!  You only have to get through me first!”  
At this point, everyone on the first floor was looking up at the twins leaning over the railing, everyone on the second floor was turned around to see what was going on, and the people on the third and fourth floors were looking down to see the scene.  _What the hell is going on?_ Clara thought.  _Why is Vegeta so pissed off?_  
“I’m sorry, man!” one of the guys yelled back, “I was only -,”  
“Hey idiot!”  Vegeta continued to yell, “what’s the difference between you and an egg?!”  The young guys looked at each other in confusion and then up at the twins.  “An egg gets laid and you don’t!”  He finished.  The whole mall began to clap for Vegeta for standing up for his sister, and laughed at the rude, unfortunate guys as they scurried out of the mall.   
“Come on.  Let’s go,” Vegeta said to Clara as he wrapped his arm around her left shoulder and directed her towards the sport’s store.   
            As they entered the sport’s store, he took his arm off from around her shoulder and crossed them.  “What was all that about?”  She asked him as they walked towards the workout pants.  
“I don’t tolerate people being rude to my family,” he explained, “especially when I’m right there.”  
“But how were they rude?”  She asked curiously as she looked through the racks of workout pants.  
“That whistle.  It’s called a catcall.  It’s a disrespectful way of telling a woman that she’s…attractive,” he explained as he followed Clara through the racks of clothes.  
“Oh,” she said with a little annoyance in her voice as she threw some black workout leggings over her arm, “why couldn’t they just come up and talk to me if they thought I was attractive?”  
“Because they’re Earthling men,” he replied, “and Earthling men are cowards.”  
“So, I should probably go ahead and give up on finding a husband or wife, huh?”  She said as she looked up at Vegeta.  
“Wife?”  He asked, curiously.  
“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “what if I like girls?”  
“Do you?”  He counter-questioned.  
She stopped to think for a moment.  “I’m not sure,” she answered, “I haven’t seen or met any women that I like as a significant other.”  
“What about men?”  He asked curiously as she threw a few more pairs of leggings over her arm.  
“I only know you and Goku,” she laughed, “and you’re my brother, and he’s married and has two kids.  Oh, and by the way, I appreciate you sticking up for me earlier, but I think I can handle a few Earthling men on my own.”  
“I only did what I was supposed to do.”  
After she decided that she had enough leggings, she began to pick out some tank tops and dri-fit shirts.  
“You know,” she began as she threw a black tank top over her arm, “I don’t believe you when you say that.”  
“Say what?”  He asked, sounding slightly offended.  
“I don’t believe you when you say, ‘I’m only doing what I’m supposed to’,” she said with a smile as she looked over to him.  “I think it’s more than that.”  
“What do you mean?” he demanded, sounding a bit more aggravated.  
“Even though we agreed that you were going to quit babying me after my little episode in Doctor Sosa’s office, and after your brotherly words of encouragement to me, you still jumped to action when you felt that I was being disrespected,” she said as she threw a few more tank tops over her arm, “you say that you’re only doing what you’re supposed to do as a big brother, but I think that you did those things not only because you feel like you’re supposed to, but also because you love and care about me as your little sister and friend more than I hate being babied by you.”  
Behind Clara’s back, Vegeta’s cheeks turned bright red from embarrassment.  “I never said that,” he replied, trying to keep his embarrassment from showing in his voice.  
She let out a slight chuckle.  “You don’t need to.  Actions speak louder than words.”  
 _Sport’s bras and underwear,_ she reminded herself, _I should probably get some._ She walked around the store while Vegeta followed until she found the underwear section and picked out a handful.  Vegeta, of course, didn’t go into the underwear section, rather, he stood out in the aisle that separated the underwear section from the workout equipment section.  
“Ready?”  He asked her as she walked out.   
“I need one more thing.  Shoes,” she said.  They walked over to the back wall of the store where the shoes were.  “How do I know which ones to get?”  She asked Vegeta.  
“Let me see your foot,” he replied.  As he looked at her foot, he could see that she had a high arch.  “Get something that’s labeled either “running” or “training”,” he answered, “it’ll help fill the space between the arch in your foot and the ground.”  
“Hmm,” she wondered as she began looking at the wide selection of shoes.  After a few minutes, she found a pair of black training shoes.  “Now I just have to figure out what size,” she said.   
“I know Bulma wears a size 8 in boots,” Vegeta said, “it might be the same for regular shoes.”  
She grabbed the size 8 off the wall and tried them on.  “Nope,” she said.  “Too big.”  She put them back and grabbed the size 7.  “Perfect.”  She walked around and she felt like she was walking on a cloud.  “Here,” Vegeta said as he threw her a pack of black, low-cut socks.  “You’ll need those as well.”  
“Oh yeah,” she chuckled, “I probably will.”  
“Ready now?”  He asked again as she put her borrowed boots back on.  
“Yup,” she replied with a nod and a smile.  
“Clara,” Vegeta said as they began walking through the workout equipment section to get to the checkout counter, “stop.”  
“Huh?  Why?  What’s wrong?”  She questioned as she looked up at her brother with worry.  
“I need you to understand something.”  
A confused look came across Clara’s face as she anticipated her brother’s next sentence.  
“I need you to understand a Saiyan’s pride,” he began as the two of them stood by the wall where the shoes were, the furthest section from the front counter.  “Pride is important to Saiyans – especially us Saiyans with royal blood in our veins.  One of the things that I take the most pride in is protecting my family, and that includes you.  I know what it’s like to have your pride taken, so, just know that you can have your pride, Clara, but if something happens to you that I don’t like, and I sit back and do nothing about it, then it’s hurting mine, and right after my family, my pride is the next most important thing to me.”  
            Clara smiled at her brother and placed her left hand on his right shoulder.  “Thank you,” she whispered.  The two of them continued to make their way up to the front counter.  “So,” Vegeta said, as they reached the long line, changing the subject, “did you get everything you need?”  
She looked down at all of the clothes hanging on her arm.  “Yeah,” she chuckled, “I think so.  I would like to get a couple pairs of jeans, though.”  She began to count the number of items she had picked out loud to her brother.  “One, two, three, four, five…eight pairs of workout leggings, two, three blue tank tops, three red tank tops, three black tank tops, three, four, five…seven black dri-fit shirts, a pair of shoes, a pack of socks, eight sport’s bras, and about twenty pair of underwear,” she finished counting out loud with a smile.  
“That’s quite a lot of clothes you have there, ma’am,” a young man’s voice came from behind.  Clara turned around to see who was talking to her, and Vegeta stayed looking straight ahead.  
“Oh, yeah,” Clara chuckled, “I guess it is.”  
The man laughed.  “You don’t need to work out.  You look perfect the way you are,” he flirted.  
 _What the hell?  Who is this guy?_ Vegeta thought to himself as he turned his head slightly to the left so that he could see who was hitting on his sister.  
“My brother here’s a fighter,” she proudly said, “he’s gonna train me.”  
 _Wait a second,_ Vegeta thought.  _Is that…_  
“Oh, yeah?  Well I know -,” the man began.  
“What the hell are you doing here?”  Vegeta interrupted the man, sounding aggravated.  
 _Is he serious right now?_ Clara thought.  
“Vegeta.  What the hell are you doing?”  She questioned him.  
Vegeta looked at Clara.  “Do you seriously not recognize him?”  
Clara looked at the man who had been flirting with her.  He was a good bit taller than her, and had blonde hair, black eyes, tanned skin, and wore glasses.  “No.  What are you so upset about?”  
Vegeta looked back at the man who had been trying to pick up his sister.  “This moron is one of the morons from that disrespectful group earlier.”  
Clara looked at the man in disgust.  “Seriously?”  She questioned him in an aggravated tone, “I thought you and your friends ran out of here with your tails between your legs.”  
The man suddenly became frightened at the now clearly annoyed Saiyan twins.  “We did, but hear me out.”  
“I think I heard enough earlier,” she responded as she turned back around.  
“No.  Please.  Just listen,” the man pleaded to Clara’s back as Vegeta was still watching him.  “I wasn’t the one who catcalled you earlier, but I was the one who pointed you out,” he explained.  “After your brother ran us outside, I decided to listen to what he said, so I decided that I would come back in and talk to you.”  
“I recall saying that you would have to get through me first,” Vegeta reminded the man.  
The man became visibly nervous and began to twiddle his thumbs.  “Yes, sir.  I do remember you saying that,” he informed Vegeta, “but I think that your sister is absolutely stunning, and I would love to ask her if I could take her out sometime.”  
 _I can’t answer for her,_ Vegeta thought.  _I just gave her the pride speech.  Damn._  
“You lost all my respect earlier when you and your pals decided to disrespect her.  Not only did you disrespect her, but you also disrespected me as her brother,” he replied, “however, it’s not my decision.  It’s her’s.”  
 _He’s actually letting me stand up for myself,_ Clara thought with a small smirk.  
“My brother’s right,” Clara said as she turned back around to face the man, “you disrespected him just as much as you disrespected me, so as for your offer, I’m going to have to say turn it down.”  She turned back around to face the counter and Vegeta followed suit.  She held out her left hand and formed it into a fist, asking for a fist bump.  Vegeta let a small smirk come across his face and connected his fist with hers.  “Thank you,” she whispered with a small smile on her face.  
He looked at her and acted confused, “For what?”  He questioned even though he knew exactly what she was thanking him for.  The man who had disrespected the Saiyan twins with his friends earlier turned around and walked out of the store, clearly upset.  “Son of a bitch,” he mumbled to himself as he walked out of the store, making sure to hit the wall on the way out with the side of his fist.  
            “I can help whoever’s next in line,” the cashier said a few minutes later.  Vegeta and Clara walked up to the counter and she placed her clothes down.  
“I’ve never seen this type of stuff before,” she whispered to Vegeta as the cashier began ringing up her clothes.  
“It’s how they calculate how much you spent,” Vegeta simply explained, “it’s called a cash register.  That’s all you really need to know.”  
After the cashier rang them up, she took the security tags and the hangers off.  Once she was finished, she told the twins the grand total.  “four-hundred and two dollars and ninety-two cents.”  
“Wow.  Bargain shopper are we?”  Vegeta said to his sister.  
“I didn’t want to spend too much,” she admitted, “it’s not my money.”  
“Bulma gave you a five-thousand-dollar limit,” Vegeta reminded her as he swiped his credit card.  
“Can I see your ID, sir?”  The cashier asked Vegeta who already had it out.  “Thank you,” she said as she confirmed the name on the card.  
“I know, but I don’t know how much five-thousand actually is,” Clara confessed, “I thought all that would be at least close to it.”  The cashier folded the clothes nicely, placed the shoes in a small drawstring bag, and bagged it all up nicely into two big shopping bags.  
“Thank you,” Clara smiled as the cashier handed her the bags.  
            After about thirty more minutes of shopping, Clara was happy with her clothes she got from the sport’s store and a few other outfits and accessories that she had gotten from a couple other stores.  The total time spent shopping: one hour and five minutes.  The total amount of money spent: $906.34.  Needless to say that Vegeta wasn’t too aggravated.  
“If I would have done this with Bulma, we would just now be leaving the sport’s store,” Vegeta said.  
“I don’t understand how someone could shop that long,” she chuckled.  
A few seconds later, she had the urge to look over to her right.  _No way,_ she thought to herself, _it can’t be…he’s dead._  
“Are you hungry?”  Vegeta asked as they walked past the food court on their way out.  
It took Clara a few seconds to realize that Vegeta had asked her something.  “Uh…no.  No, I’m good,” she replied.  
 _Damn,_ she thought, _I have got to get better at hiding things._  
“What’s wrong?”  Vegeta asked, sounding concerned.  
“It’s nothing.  Honestly,” she tried to convince him.  
“Sit,” he said as he pulled out a chair from an empty table. Knowing there was no way out, she let out a sigh and sat down.  A few seconds later, he sat down next to her and faced her.  “What’s going through that head of yours?”  
 _No point in lying,_ she thought.  
“Do you ever find yourself feeling down out of nowhere?”  She questioned.  
“How do you mean?”  He asked.  
“Like, if you ever think back to the moment when Frieza destroyed our home world, or you see or hear something that reminds you of him, do you start feeling how you did at the moment that he destroyed our planet, and start remembering how it felt to be tormented by him?”  
Vegeta nodded his head.  “Yeah, I did.  For a while.”  
“But not anymore?”  She questioned.  
“Not too much,” he said, “some anger still comes up.”  
Clara nodded her head as she seemingly looked past Vegeta.  “I can’t get him out of my head,” she admitted, quietly, “he’s everywhere I go.”  
“Doctor Uling?”  Vegeta asked.  
She nodded her head again, still looking past him.  “Whenever I think about everything he did to me, physically and mentally, or I see someone who looks like him, or I hear someone talk like he did, all the joy that I have disappears.”  Her eyes quickly began to fill with tears.  “I was having a really good time – I really was, but then I saw someone who resembled that sadistic bastard.”  
 _My God,_ Vegeta thought to himself, _I can’t stand to see her cry._  
“Please don’t cry, Clara,” he pleaded, “he’s dead.  He’s gone forever.  I’m right here,” he whispered to her.  She took a deep breath in and the tears that were close to falling, seemed to dry up.  _Thank God,_ Vegeta thought.  
“So how did you do it?”  She asked.  “How did you stop being bothered by memories and thoughts of Frieza so much?”  
“I distract myself whenever I feel the memories creeping back in.  I’ve learned that in order to heal a wound, you need to stop touching it.  Both on the body and in the mind.”  
The smile that had been on Clara’s face all day crept back on her face.  “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said.  
He let out a slight laugh.  “So, what do you say we get some food?”  He asked as he gently tapped her left shoulder with his right hand.  
“Sounds good,” she said with a smile.


	16. Clara Saga - Part Sixteen

**Part Sixteen - Training**   
**"When people tell a lie about something, they have to make up a bunch of lies to go with the first one.  'Mythomania' is the word for it." - Haruki Murakami**

 

“So, what exactly happened?”  Doctor Sosa said as Bulma walked into his office.  
“It’s so heartbreaking, Okuda,” Bulma replied as she sat down in the chair that Vegeta had sat in earlier, sounding upset, “after she and Vegeta found out that they were related, they came to me and asked me if I would be able to help in getting her memories back.  After I told them that I was unable to, she began to break down and cry hysterically.”  
“Oh, God,” Doctor Sosa said, sounding down, “that is heartbreaking.”  
“That’s not even the worse part,” Bulma said with tears filling her eyes.  “Vegeta and I had to sedate her to calm her down.  While she was sedated, I took the initiative to change her into some clean clothes, but as soon as she woke up, she began crying hysterically again and took off.  Vegeta followed her and said that he was going to try to bring her back, but as I said earlier, I haven’t seen either one since.  Vegeta told me about the age difference thing, so I figured that I would try to have at least some good news for her if she ever comes back.  I can’t help but feel like she’s losing hope with every second that she doesn’t have her memories.”  
“I understand,” Doctor Sosa replied as he turned around to get the samples off of his counter.  “Here are the samples I promised you.  This one is Vegeta’s,” he said as he put a red label around one of the clear vials, “and this one is his sister’s,” he said as he put a black label around the other one.  
“Thank you so much, Okuda,” Bulma said as he handed her the vials.  
“No thanks needed.  You’re truly an amazing person to try to help her,” he complimented her.  
“Thank you,” she humbly replied as she got up from the chair, “I am going to do whatever I can to try to help her.”  
 _Good job, Bulma,_ she thought as she began to walk out the door.   _Still got it._

 

**"If you don't control your mind, someone else will." - John Allston**

 

 “So,” Vegeta said as he finished the last bit of his food.  “Anywhere else you want to go?”  
“Not right now,” Clara answered as she put her fork down, “but do you think we can go see Doctor Sosa after we get done training?”  
“What for?”  He asked her, curiously.  
“I’m hoping that he’s figured something out about the age difference thing,” she explained, sounding hopeful.  
Vegeta let out a slight chuckle, “Sure,” he said.  
            As the Saiyan twins finished eating, they threw away their trash, and walked towards the door.  As the approached the front door to walk outside, an elderly man noticed that Clara was carrying five shopping bags and Vegeta was carrying none.  
“You know, son,” the man began, making the two stop and look at him, “a real man would carry those bags for a lady.”  
Clara instantly had an irritated look on her face as Vegeta crossed his arms, titled his head back and looked up to the ceiling and let out a big, annoyed sigh.  
“Would you like for me to carry those bags for you?”  He said in a rehearsed tone, without prompting from his sister as Clara continued to look at the man who she felt had offended her.  
“Hmph,” she grunted at the man as she turned around and continued to walk with her brother by her side.  After about fifteen minutes or so of walking, they were finally back at Capsule Corp.  As they walked inside, they noticed that no one was home.  “Where is everyone?”  Clara questioned.  
“Bulma is probably out and about, and Trunks is at school,” Vegeta informed her as he flipped on the lights.  “Go get changed.  I’ll wait right here.”  
Clara ran upstairs with her bags in her hands and entered her room.  
 _Man,_ she thought.   _This is going to be so awesome.  I wonder if I might remember something._ She put her bags on her bed, and began rummaging through the bags from the sport’s store.   _Let’s see.  Bra, underwear, leggings, tank top, socks, and shoes,_ she listed to herself as she grabbed each item.  Due to her overwhelming excitement, she was ready and dressed within a matter of minutes.  “Perfect size,” she said to herself as she looked in the mirror and tied her hair back.  She grabbed her shoes and sprinted down the stairs to meet up with Vegeta who had stayed by the front door.  
            “Excited?”  He jokingly questioned as she slid on the tile floor after running down the stairs.  
“That obvious, huh?”  
“I wouldn’t be if I were you,” Vegeta said as he began to walk with Clara by his side, “I’m merely testing your physical strength today.”  
“Damn,” she said sounding a little disappointed, “and here I was ready to fight you.”  
“I don’t think you could handle that,” Vegeta said with a cocky chuckle.  
“Speak for yourself,” she replied with an equal amount of cockiness.  
 _Hmm.  I guess we are somewhat alike,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Here we are,” Vegeta said as they stopped in front of an automatic door.  He punched in a number combination and the door opened.  
“Wow,” Clara said as she saw the room.  “This is where you train?”  
“No,” Vegeta answered bluntly as the door closed behind them, “this is Bulma’s gym.”  
Clara looked up at her brother in confusion.  “Bulma’s gym?”  
“I don’t want to start you out in my gym until I can confirm that you are stronger than an Earthling,” he told her.  
“You each have your own gym?”  She questioned him.  
“That’s right.  Now stop asking questions and put your shoes on,” he said in a stern voice as he walked towards the workout equipment.  She did as he told her and laced up her new shoes.  
 _Starting me out in an Earthling woman’s gym.  What’s he trying to say?_ She thought, feeling a little offended.  
“So what am I supposed to do?”  She said, as she finished putting on her shoes, crossing her arms, and standing beside her brother, still sounding a little offended.  
He looked down at his clearly offended sister.  “First, you’re gonna drop the attitude.”  
 _Who the hell is this guy?_ She questioned herself.  
“Why are you-,” she began to question her brother.  
“Didn’t I tell you that you won’t feel like I’m babying you once I begin your training?”  He reminded her, as he looked straight ahead.  “Follow me.”  
Vegeta began walking over to an open area as Clara followed.   _Maybe I should just do what he says.  He doesn’t seem like the type of person to mess around when it comes to training,_ she thought.  “Here,” he said as he laid a mat on the ground, “lie down on your back.”  Instead of arguing, the younger twin did as she was told and lied down on her back, facing up to her brother.  He walked over towards the top of her head and stood with his legs on either side of her head.  “Grab my ankles,” he told her. Again, she didn’t argue, and she did as he asked.  “Now.  Keep your legs together and straight and kick them up towards me like you’re trying to kick me in the face.  You can pull on my ankles as you kick up to help you if you want.”  Again, without argument, she did as she was instructed.  As she kicked her legs up towards her brother, he caught them.  “Now,” he said, “I’m going to push them back down as hard as I see fit.  Don’t let them touch the ground.  Keep kicking them back up.”  
“What happens if I let them touch the ground?”  Clara asked, innocently.  
“Then we start over and double the number you’re going to do,” he informed her.  
“How many are we doing?”  
“Starting with a hundred,” he replied, “if you let them touch the ground, we’ll start over at zero and then you do two hundred.”  
 _This man’s trying to kill me,_ she thought.  
“As I said, you can pull on my ankles to help you kick back up.  Ready?  Go.”  
Before she had time to think, Vegeta pushed her legs down to where they almost touched the ground, but she was able to stop them just in time.  She pulled on his ankles and kicked her legs back up.   _So all I have to do is pretend that I’m kicking you in the face?_ She thought.   _Got it._ After a few minutes went by, Clara felt her stomach starting to burn as if someone were holding her over an open flame.   _I don’t know how much longer I can do this for,_ she thought to herself.  
“Seventy-two, seventy-three, seventy-four,” Vegeta continued to count.  
 _Only twenty-six more,_ she told herself as her stomach began to burn more and more and tears began to fill her eyes.  
“Eighty, eighty-one,” Vegeta continued.   _Nope,_ she thought,  _can’t do it._  Her legs hit the ground for the first time since they started, and she laid there on the mat with her hands around her brother’s ankles while her stomach was on fire.  
“Dammit,” she mumbled, angrily as she laid still, taking deep breaths in and out.  
“Seriously?”  He angrily groaned.  “You had nineteen left.  Nineteen.”  
“I…my…my stomach,” she said in between short, deep breaths.  As she laid there, she could see the aggravation on her brother’s face as he glared down at her.  “Sorry, Vegeta.  I couldn’t do it.”  
“Don’t apologize to me.  Apologize to yourself.  And you call yourself the Princess of all Saiyans?  Pathetic.  My nine-year-old can do a hundred of these without breaking a sweat” he scolded her.  
“How the hell am I supposed to keep going when I feel like I’m being roasted over an open flame?!”  She yelled at him as she let go of his ankles and crossed her arms.  
“Cry.  Scream.  Yell.  Cuss.  Insult me.  Try to kick me.  Do whatever it takes to make yourself push through the pain,” he sternly replied.  
“Try to kick you?”  She questioned.  “And what if I actually do?”  
“Then that’s my fault,” he replied.  
“As you wish,” she said, nonchalantly as she grabbed his ankles again and took a deep breath in.  “Two hundred,” Vegeta said, “and…GO!”  
This time around, Clara made it a point to actually try to kick her brother since he was the one putting her through this much pain.   _Come on, Clara,_ she thought to herself,  _his face is right there.  You can do it._  
“The faster you kick your legs up, the faster this is over with,” he motivated her.  She began to grunt in frustration as she kicked up faster, and soon, the grunts turned to yells.  
“There ya go,” Vegeta said.  “one-hundred-two, one-hundred three, ninety-seven more, one-hundred four,” he counted out loud.  
 _Come on.  Must.  Kick.  Brother.  In.  Face._ She told herself in between lifts.  After a few more minutes of leg lifts and failed attempts of hitting Vegeta, Clara realized that she was coming close the end of the exercise when she heard Vegeta counting out loud again.  “One-hundred ninety, one-hundred ninety-two, one-hundred ninety-three.”  As he got to one-hundred and ninety-eight, her determination to hit Vegeta grew more, and on the last one, her right shin met with his forehead.  
            “What the hell was that for?!”  He yelled, clearly shocked by the amount of force that was in her kick.  
“That’s your fault.  Not mine,” she said with a cocky smirk.  
“Very funny,” he replied, sounding unamused as he rubbed his forehead.  
“It feels like I’ve been stabbed in the stomach a dozen times,” she said, still breathing heavily.  “Good,” Vegeta replied as he handed her a bottle of water from the mini-refrigerator, “that means it’s working.”  She took a big sip from the bottle as she stayed sitting on the ground.    “Don’t drink too much.  You’ll get a cramp,” Vegeta warned his sister.  She heeded his warning and put the cap back on the water.  “Next,” he said as he walked over to a treadmill.  “Come on.”  She got up and walked over towards the treadmill.  “What’s this?”  She asked, still breathing somewhat heavily.  
“It’s a treadmill.  You run on it,” he explained simply.  “I’m gonna test your speed and stamina.  Hand me your wrist,” he said as he grabbed a watch from a shelf.  
“What is that?”  She asked.  
“It tracks your heartrate – the number of times your heart beats per minute,” he answered.  She held out her right wrist and he strapped it around her wrist.  “What do I need it for?”  She questioned.  
“See this number right here?”  He pointed out as the tracker turned on.  “See how it says 110 now?  Don’t let it go over 200.”  
“What happens if it goes over 200?”  She asked curiously.  
“You could go into cardiac arrest and have a heart attack,” he answered, bluntly.  “If you see it going up too fast, slow down.  Walk if you have to.  Just don’t stop – that’ll make it keep going up,” he told her as she walked onto the treadmill.   
“Got it.  So what am I doing?”  
“When I say ‘go’, press the green button in the center and walk at 3.5 miles per hour for a minute.  After that minute, sprint for as long and as fast as you possibly can – making sure to keep your heart rate below 200.  If your heart rate increases too quickly, slow yourself down, but do not stop.”  
She nodded her head in understanding.  
“Ready?  Go.”  
As soon as he gave the signal to start, she pressed the green button and began walking for a whole minute.  After the minute was up, she began sprinting.  After ten minutes of pure sprinting went by, Vegeta became intrigued.  _That’s odd,_ he thought.   _She should at least be breathing heavier._  
“How fast are you sprinting?”  He asked.  
“Uh…12,” she replied as she looked at the treadmill.  
 _Twelve?_ He questioned himself.  _That’s as fast as it can go._  
“What is your heart rate?”  
“Um…120,” she stated as she held the watch up for him to see.  
“Are you feeling tired?”  He questioned, sounding even more curious.  
“No, not really.  It feels…natural,” she admitted.  
 _This doesn’t make sense,_ he thought.  
“Get off,” he said, “time to move on.”  He walked over to the weights, and Clara jogged to catch up to him.  “Something wrong?”  She asked.   
“I’m not sure,” he replied as he looked at the different weights.  “Here, do this,” he said as he loaded five 45-pound iron plates on each side of the leg press – totaling 450 pounds.  
“What’s this?”  She asked as she watched him load the weights.  
“It’s a leg press.  You lay down right here,” he said as he pointed to the seat laying on the ground, “and you push this foot plate up until your legs are straight.  Let it come back down as far as it can and push it back up.  Do six sets of ten repetitions.”  
“Got it.”  
She laid down on the seat and pressed the foot plate up as far as it could go and slowly let it come back down.  After the second set, he noticed that she was still not struggling or breaking a sweat.   _Why is it when I have her workout her abs, she has a hard time doing it, but anything else I have her do is…natural?  Wait a second…_  
“Clara, stop.  Come with me.”  Clara got up from the leg press and followed her brother over to the bench press.  After showing her proper form, he loaded the bar up with five 45-pound weights on both side – totaling 450 pounds.  Yet again, she did it with ease.  
 _I can’t be…can it?_ Vegeta asked himself as she gracefully moved the bar up and down.  After finding himself amazed with her leg and upper body strength he had her follow him back over to the mat to do her abdominals again.  “Lie down,” he said as they got to the mat.  
“This again?  I thought we already did this?”  She questioned.  
“Just lie down,” he repeated.  She did as she asked and he went down to her feet this time and held her feet down.  “Cross your arms flat on your chest and sit up.”  She did as she was told and just as Vegeta suspected, she had trouble and began to feel the burning sensation in her stomach instantly.  After fifty sit ups, he had her stop.  
“Is something wrong?”  She asked as she laid on the mat, looking up at her visibly confused brother.  
 _It can’t be…but, then again, she’s only been here for a few days,_ Vegeta pondered to himself.  
“Hello?  Earth to Vegeta!”  She said loudly, snapping her fingers in front of his face, trying to pull him out of his train of thought.  It seemed to have worked because moments later, after a few seconds of silence, he knelt down to her and place his hands on his knees.  “I need you to close your eyes and think back,” he said.  “I need you to not use your memories, but use your instincts.”  A confused look crept across her face as she titled his head.  
“What is this for?”  She asked.  
“Just humor me,” he said plainly.  She did as he asked and closed her eyes.  
“What am I trying to remember?”  She asked.  
“Try to remember if you had a baby within the past few days or weeks.”  Her eyes flung open and pure shock came across her face.  Before she could ask why he was trying to have her remember if she had a baby, he answered her unasked question.  “When Bulma got pregnant with Trunks, she was unable to work out her abs for fear that it would hurt him, but she was able to work out her upper body and legs.  After she had him, her abs became the weakest part of her body because they hadn’t been worked out in eight months.”  
 _Does he really think that I could have had a baby?  Could I be a…mom?_ She began to question herself.   _I think I would remember that, but then again…I can’t remember anything._  
“I…I don’t know,” she said quietly, looking down, as tears filled her eyes, and she held out her hands in front of her with her palms facing up as if she was waiting for something to float down into them.  “You think I’d remember something like that.”  
Seeing that his sister was clearly upset, he grabbed her hands and pushed them down to where they almost touched the mat so that she would look at him.  “Worrying about it isn’t going to help anything.  We’ll figure it out,” he said as she looked up to him, trying to give her hope.  She looked down at his hands covering hers, and a smile crept across her face.  “Yeah,” she said as she looked up to meet his gaze, “we will.”  
            “Well,” Vegeta said as he stood back up, “I think you’ve proven yourself stronger than an Earthling.  How about we train as Saiyans?”  He asked her as he held out his right hand, offering to help her up.  
“Sure,” she said with a nod as she pulled herself up on her brother’s arm, “lead the way.”  
The two of them walked out of Bulma’s gym and back out in the hallway.  “So,” Clara began, “question.”  
“Answer,” he replied.  
“How is it that I’m already stronger than an Earthling?  Is it a natural thing because I’m a Saiyan?”  She questioned, curiously.  
“That’s part of it,” he began to explain.  “Saiyans are biologically stronger than Earthlings, but it’s likely that you have previous training.”  
A confused look came onto Clara’s face.  “Well, then how would I -,” she began before stopping herself, realizing that she already knew the answer to her question.  “That muscle memory thing.  Right.”  
“Mhmm,” Vegeta nodded his head.  As they approached another room a little ways down, he punched in another number combination, and the door slid open.   _Holy shit,_ Clara thought to herself as she stepped inside,  _this place is…huge._ She was clearly taken back at the enormity of the seemingly empty room.  “This is my gravity room,” Vegeta told her as he noticed the shocked expression on her face.  
“How does it work?”  She asked as she walked around the room and looked around.  
“I can control the gravity using the center console.  I can put it up to 600x Earth’s gravity at the moment, but Bulma hasn’t updated it yet.”  
“Bulma made this?!”  She exclaimed as she stopped in her tracks.  “Are you serious?!  This is amazing!  I want one.”  
“There are also fighting robots that I can activate, but we’ll save that for another day,” he informed her as if he were trying to make her even more jealous.  “Here.  Take your shoes off and step on this scale.”  She did as her brother asked of her and stood by him and in front of the scale.  “What’s this?”  She asked, looking at the unfamiliar object.   
“It’s a scale,” he told her, “it tells you how much you weigh.  Take off your shoes and step on.”  She followed his instruction and stepped on the scale.  “How long do I have to stand here?”  She asked.  
“Until I tell you to move.”  The scale’s numbers went up and went back down until they finally stood still at 130 pounds.  
“Okay.  Step off,” he said, “put your shoes back on.”  She stepped off, put her shoes back on and listened as Vegeta began talking.  “On this planet, the gravity is 9.807 meters per second.  That means that’s the rate that something falls to the ground.  It’s also the gravitational pull on your body.  On this planet, you weigh 130 pounds.  However, on Planet Vegeta, our home planet, the gravity was ten times this planet’s – meaning that the gravity on our planet was 98.07, and from doing the math, I can tell you that you would weigh 1,300 pounds on Planet Vegeta.”  
“Is that why it’s so easy for me to lift so much weight?”  She questioned as she stood back up.  
“I’m not sure.  From what I know, you weren’t on Planet Vegeta very long.  You may, however, have been sent to another planet with gravity equal to or greater than Planet Vegeta’s, and thanks to muscle memory, your body remembers what it feels like to carry that weight.  So that 450 pounds you were lifting would actually be 4,500 pounds on a planet with ten times gravity – like Planet Vegeta.”  
“So that’s why it was so easy for me?”  She questioned.  
“Yes.  I’m convinced that you’ve trained somewhere with gravity much higher than Earth’s,” he confessed.  He walked over to the control panel, turned on the room, and told Clara that he was going to start her out at ten times Earth’s gravity, just like Planet Vegeta had.  “Now let’s just see what you can do,” he said as he flipped the switch.   
            As he turned the room on, he started it out at ten times gravity, but to his surprise, she didn’t seem to notice it – even going as far as asking if he had turned in on.  He decided to take it up a notch and turn it up to fifty times gravity, and again, she didn’t seem to notice.   _Alright.  Up one more,_ he thought to himself as he turned it up to one hundred times gravity.  
“Oh, come on!”  He yelled to Clara as she again didn’t seem to be affected by it.  “You can’t be serious!”  
“Have you even turned the thing on yet?”  She questioned him as she turned around.  He stood still with an unimpressed look on his face, and she walked over towards him as if she were walking around normally.   _What the hell is she?_ He wondered.   _This is ridiculous.  She’s not even feeling it._  
“Hey.  Did you hear me?”  She asked, trying to get his attention, but instead he just stood there silently, looking at her in disbelief.  “What is-,” she began as she walked around and stood next to her brother, looking at the control panel, “oh,” she finished.  “Wow.  One hundred times gravity?  Is that good?”  
Vegeta slowly turned his head towards her.  “Are you seriously telling me that you’re not feeling anything?”  
“Nope.  Feels…natural, actually,” she confirmed.  
“You do realize that you weigh 13,000 pounds right now, right?”  He reminded her.  
“Hmm,” she said as she looked down to her feet and jumped up and down, “doesn’t feel like it.  Maybe it’s broken.”  
“It’s not broken,” he confirmed, “Bulma just did maintenance on it.”  
“Well then why don’t you just keep turning it up until I feel something?”  She suggested.  
“It only goes up to 600 times gravity.  I can only do 550,” he told her.  
“Well, what if I can do 600?”  She questioned, sounding a bit cocky.  
“Then I guess I’m going to have to do it too.  I could never let my little sister become stronger than me.”  
“Well if I can do 600 before you, wouldn’t that mean that I’m already stronger than you?”  She laughed.  
“Shut up,” he mumbled as he turned the gravity up one more notch at a time.  At 400 times gravity, there was still no response from her.  “Alright.  We’re going all the way,” Vegeta said, sounding a bit annoyed.  
“Phrasing!”  She yelled.  Without going through 500 or 550 times gravity, he turned the gravity room all the way up to 600 times gravity.  This time, they both seemed to feel it.  
“How about now?”  He asked with a chuckle as he could clearly see his sister struggle to move her body.  “Your body weighs 78,000 pounds!”  
 _It feels like my legs are about to break,_ she thought to herself as she stood with her knees bent and her hands in tight fists.   _How is this possible?  How can I-_  
Her thinking was interrupted by an out of the blue right hook from her older brother that knocked her to the ground.  “What the hell was that for?!”  She yelled as she tried to pick herself back up.  
“Having fun yet?” He asked her.  “You said you wanted to fight me.  Let’s go.  Get up.”  
After a few more minutes of struggling to get her body up off the ground, she finally got back on her feet.  “Fine,” she said as she wiped the blood away from her lip, “if it’s a fight you want, then it’s a fight you’ll get.”  
            As she went to throw the next punch, a left jab, she found that her body didn’t respond as quickly as she wanted it to.  “The hell?”  She said to herself as she witnessed Vegeta quickly move his head back to avoid the punch.  “You’re thinking too much about your movements,” he said as he hit her with a right side kick which threw her on the ground again.  “Stop putting so much thought into your moves, and just move.”  
 _Just move?_ She thought.   _How can I move without thinking about moving?_  
“Fighting should feel as normal as breathing,” he told her as she stood back up.  “You don’t think about breathing – you just do it.”  
 _Okay.  Just move.  Don’t think,_ she told herself as she went to throw a left hook that he of course dodged.  However, as he moved his head to his left to avoid the punch, Clara moved with him and caught him from the other side with a right hook.  
“Very good,” he said as he wiped blood away from his nose, “now you’re getting it.”  
            Within a matter of minutes, the two twin Saiyans were in a full on battle – each one landing and dodging punches and kicks.  After about five minutes of equally powerful hits, Vegeta discovered Clara’s one of few weaknesses.  As he threw a left high kick, Clara ducked her head forward and down to avoid it, and as she did, her older brother was able to get her to the ground, face first.  
“What the…how the hell did you do that?”  She mumbled as her face was pressed into the ground by her brother holding her down.  
“I didn’t,” he admitted, “you did.”  
“What?”  She questioned, sounding offended.  “I wouldn’t have thrown myself to the ground.”   _Holy shit he’s heavy,_ she thought to herself, gasping for air as her brother pinned her down.  
“But you did,” he insisted.  “Even if you didn’t mean to.”  
“Okay.  Enlighten me.  How did I throw myself to the ground, oh wise one?”  She questioned him, sounding annoyed.  
 _Such an attitude.  Just like her brother,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Your strength is in countering whatever comes at you, but that strength can also be your weakness,” he informed her.   
 _The hell is he talking about?  How can my strength be my weakness?_   She wondered.  
“You’re so focused on countering the initial attack coming at you that you don’t realize that you leave yourself open for other attacks,” he explained.  “Whenever you dodged my kick and ducked forward and down, you didn’t realize that you threw yourself off balance which made it easy for me to sweep your legs and get you down.”  
“Dammit,” she said, sounding aggravated.  
“You need to think at least five steps ahead of your opponent.  For example, if I throw a high kick and you duck to dodge it and ultimately throw yourself off balance, you should know that I’m going to go for a takedown.  By knowing that, you should immediately regain your balance and come right back at me with a counter attack.  Since I would have just thrown a kick, and my body would have been leaning backwards, most of my weight would have been backwards.  It would have been easy for you to come back up and get me on my back.  Instead, you threw yourself off balance when you avoided my attack, let me follow through with my kick, regain my balance, and ultimately take you down.  Not once did you try to regain your balance or come in for a counter attack.  That should be your first instinct.”  
 _Damn.  He’s right,_ she thought as she struggled underneath her brother.  
“Now get up,” he told her.  
“How am I supposed to get up when you’re sitting right on top of my back?”  She asked with an aggravated tone and muffled voice.  “Damn.  How much do you weigh?”  
“In this gravity, 84,000 pounds.”  
“WHAT THE FUCK?”  She said, sounding even more aggravated.  “It’s hard enough for me to lift my own body, let alone yours and mine!”  
“You should have thought about that before you gave me a free takedown!”  He yelled back.  “Now get up!”  
             _Come on, Clara.  You’re a Saiyan.  No.  You’re not just a Saiyan.  You’re the PRINCESS of all Saiyans,_ she motivated herself.  
“If you seriously call yourself a Saiyan, but can’t get me off of you, then you’re the most pathetic Saiyan I’ve ever met,” Vegeta told her.  “Maybe all you’re capable of is stand up to Earthling cowards.”  
 _Come on!_ She yelled at herself as she continued to try to move out from underneath her brother.  
“Really, Clara?  And to think that I thought of you as my equal,” Vegeta said, continuing to insult her.  
All of a sudden, Clara’s power began to rise substantially to the point where it shut Vegeta’s insults up.   _What the hell is going on?_ He thought.   _There’s no way._  
 _What is this?_ Clara thought.   _What’s happening to my body?_   After a few more seconds of struggling to get out from underneath her brother, Clara began to notice her body change.   _What’s happening?_ She wondered while she became a little more nervous.   _What’s going on?_  
 _Wait.  No.  That’s not,_ Vegeta tried to convinced himself.   _What is it?_  
As the struggle went on, a red aura began to from around Clara as her power continued to rise significantly, and her nails turned black and grew long and sharp.  Her black hair busted out of the pony tail she had tied around it, and it turned pure white.  As she raised her head up from off the floor, she noticed that her eyesight had changed.   _I can see…everything,_ she thought to herself.   _Everything for miles._ Although neither one of them could see, her eyes turned completely black, much like a demon’s.  
“Clara!”  Vegeta yelled, obviously taken back.  “What’s happening to you?!”  
She began to laugh in a low voice with a smile across her face.  “Oh, brother.  If you’re going to be a smartass, first you have to be smart,” she finally insulted him back.  
“What the-,” he began before being cut off by his sister’s unfathomable strength.  She let out a loud yell that sounded almost like a roar.  Then, all of a sudden, she threw Vegeta off her back as if he weighed as much as a feather and appeared in midair with her back against the ceiling.  She looked down at her brother who had been thrown into and busted a hole in the wall leading outside.   _What is going on?_ He thought to himself as he looked at the giant hole that had been created.  He looked up at his sister, who was floating above him and saw the red aura around her, engulfing her like a fire.  He saw how her now white hair surrounded her head, much like the mane of a lion, her long, sharp black nails, and he looked into her seemingly soulless eyes.  Once she began sadistically smiling at him, he noticed her previously perfect teeth turn into jagged, razor sharp teeth.   _What the fuck is she?_ He thought to himself, beginning to become a little frightened.   _That is NOT a Saiyan transformation.  What is going on?_  
            “Clara!”  He yelled at her while he stood up and formed an energy blast in his right hand.  “Calm down!  You need to calm yourself down!”  
Clara could only laugh as she looked down to her brother and formed a similar energy blast.  She then appeared inches away from Vegeta’s face as she continued to smile and laugh.  “Don’t make me do it,” Vegeta threatened as he held up his energy blast to her and looked her straight in her pitch black eyes, almost as if he were looking through them.  
“Don’t make me do it,” she mimicked him almost exactly as she held her blast up and looked him in the eyes.  
“You need to calm yourself down,” he told her in a calm voice as he continued to look through her eyes.  
“You need to calm yourself down,” she repeated in exactly the same way.  
 _What’s happening?_ He thought as she continued to stare directly into her eyes.   _I can’t see anything in her eyes – it’s almost like they’re black holes._  
“Clara, you need to take a deep breath in,” he said calmly.  
“Clara, you need to take a deep breath in,” she repeated, exactly the same way.  Vegeta took a deep breath in while making sure not to break eye contact, and Clara copied him in the exact same way.  After a few deep breaths in and out, he grabbed her hands.  
“Clara, it’s me,” he said, calmly, and of course, Clara repeated.  
“Clara, it’s your brother,” he said.  
“Clara, it’s your brother,” she repeated.  
“You don’t hurt your own family,” he told her.  
“You don’t hurt your own family,” she repeated.  
As she repeated the words he was saying, the red aura around her began to fade away and her hair, eyes, nails, and teeth returned to normal.  
“Vegeta,” she whispered as she returned to normal.  A few seconds later, her eyes closed and she passed out.  She began to fall forward, but Vegeta caught her before she could hit the ground.  
             _I don’t understand what that was,_ he thought as he picked up his sister bridal style.   _Could that have been a Saiyan transformation?  No.  That’s no transformation I’ve ever seen before.  Surely my father would have mentioned a transformation like that, but then again, he never even mentioned HER._ He looked down at his clearly exhausted sister passed out.   _Could that be the reason why?_  
  
As Vegeta carried his sister through the house and back upstairs, he tried to figure out what he just saw.  As they approached her room, he opened the door, carried her over to her bed, and laid her down on top of the blankets.  As he laid her down, he remembered what she had said to him as they waited for Doctor Sosa to come back with the DNA test results.  “What if there was a way to wish back your father?  Not every Saiyan, just the King,” he heard her voice say as he looked down at his sleeping sister.  “Then I’d do it,” he said quietly as he remembered his answer from before.  “Well, father,” he said as he continued to look down at his sister, “it’s about time you help us figure this mess out.”


	17. Clara Saga - Part Seventeen

**Part Seventeen - Revive the King?**   
**"Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them." - George Elliot**

 

Vegeta walked out of his sister’s room and closed her door.  As he stood with his back towards the hallway, he tried to come up with ways to bring their father back.  “Dammit,” he scoffed as he realized that he had no other choice but to ask for help from the one person he didn’t want it from.  He walked down the hallway, down the stairs, and towards the front door.  As the front door opened, he noticed the heavy downfall of rain along with the thunder and lightning.   _There’s no way I’m going out in that,_ he told himself.  He turned away from the door and as it closed, he walked into the living room, and sat down on the couch.   _There has to be a way to figure this out.  I don’t need that clown’s help,_ he tried to convince himself. As he sat on the couch coming up with dead end strategies and theories, he would glance over at the phone sitting on the table next to the couch.  “Dammit.  Fine,” he scoffed under his breath.  He looked around to make sure that no one was there to see him as he picked up the phone and dialed a number.  “Come on.  Pick up,” he grumbled to himself as the phone rang.  After a few more rings, someone picked up the other end.  
“Hey Bulma!”  Goku yelled, sounding excited.  
“I’m not Bulma, moron,” Vegeta replied, “get over here.  Now.”  
“Oh, hey Vegeta!  What’s up?”  He asked.  
“Would you just get over here?!”  Vegeta yelled.  
“Sheesh.  Fine.  Give me a sec.”   
Vegeta hung up the phone and turned back around on the couch.   _I cannot believe I’ve stooped this low,_ he thought.  A few seconds later, Goku popped up and appeared sitting with his legs crossed on the coffee table in front of the couch, grinning as usual.   
“Hey Vegeta!”  He exclaimed as he held up one hand with his palm facing Vegeta.  
“Kakarot, shut up.  You’re gonna wake her up,” he said, sounding aggravated.  
“Huh?  Wake who?”  He questioned as he looked around as if he were looking for someone in the living room with them.  
“Clara is sleeping upstairs,” he told him, “well, not sleeping.  More like she passed out and hasn’t woken up.”  
Goku’s face grew concerned.  “Is she okay?  What happened?”  
“That’s why I called you here.  I’m not sure what happened,” he confessed.  
“So she just passed out?”  He said as he scratched his head, clearly confused.  
“No,” he replied bluntly, “but we can’t talk about this here.  Let’s go,” he said as he stood up from the couch and put his hand on Goku’s shoulder.  Goku looked at him with a confused look on his face.  “Where are we going?  Are you sure you wanna leave her here?”  He questioned.  
“I don’t care.  And she’ll be fine,” he said as he looked at the clock on the wall.  “It’s almost one.  Bulma will be home soon.”  Without a reply, Goku put his index and middle finger on his forehead and within the blink of an eye, the two of them were out of the living room.  
            “Are you serious, Kakarot?”  Vegeta questioned, sounding annoyed as the two of them popped up in a local diner.  Vegeta quickly let go of Goku’s shoulder and crossed his arms as the hostess started to walk towards them.   _He must not be taking me seriously.  How could someone eat at a time like this?_ Vegeta asked himself.  
“You said you didn’t care, remember?”  Goku reminded him.  “And it’s pouring outside.  I didn’t want to talk out in the rain.”  
 _I guess he has a point,_ Vegeta admitted to himself as he looked around the restaurant.   _It’s not too crowded.  I guess this’ll do._  
“Hi.  Welcome to The Cocoa View Diner.  My name is Miya.  Just two?”  
“Yes, please,” Goku said cheerfully.  
“Could we have that booth in the back?”  Vegeta asked, sounding a little demanding.  
“Sure thing,” she replied.  She led the two to the booth that sat isolated in the very back of the diner.  “Your server today will be Kasai.  She’ll be right with you,” she told them as she put meus in front of them and walked away  
“Why’d you wanna sit all the way back here?”  Goku asked as he opened up his menu.  
Vegeta crossed his arms and leaned his head back against the wall behind him.  “Because.  I’m not too crazy about other people eavesdropping,” he said sternly, “so don’t draw any attention to us.”  
 _Something’s really bothering Vegeta,_ Goku thought as he looked up from his menu to see Vegeta leaned back, staring off into space.   
“I won’t draw any attention,” Goku said.  “you have my word.”  
“Clara transformed,” he said quickly as if he had been waiting to tell someone.  
“SHE WHAT?!”  Goku exclaimed, but then quickly dropped his menu, and put his hands over his mouth as if it would take back the attention grabbing reaction.  
“I don’t think you were loud enough, Kakarot.  You only grabbed the whole diner’s attention,” Vegeta pointed out.  
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly as he looked around and saw everyone go back to their own business.  “I won’t do it again.”  Vegeta leaned his head away from the wall and sat back up straight still with his arms crossed, and looked at Goku.  “Clara transformed,” he repeated.  
“Transformed?  How?”  Goku asked curiously.  
“I was training her,” Vegeta replied as he leaned his head back against the wall again – this time closing his eyes.  “I was training her, and she transformed.”  
“Well, she is a Saiyan, isn’t she?”  Goku questioned as he picked his menu back up.  “Wouldn’t it make sense for her to transform?”  
“No,” Vegeta said bluntly.  “It wasn’t a Saiyan transformation – at least not one I’ve ever seen.”   
 _God, Clara,_ Vegeta thought.   _What are you?  Perhaps I was seeing things.  Maybe the gravity was too much.  I can’t get that image out of my head_.  The images of Clara’s disturbing demon-like transformation swam around inside Vegeta’s head.  The images were so clear that he could have sworn that the inside of his eyelids were tattooed with them.  Goku put down his menu and looked up at Vegeta and saw how visibly disturbed he was from talking about his sister’s transformation.  “Maybe it’s a good thing!”  Goku exclaimed, trying to help Vegeta feel better.  “Maybe it means she’s even stronger than me – a Super Saiyan Three!”  
“No,” Vegeta said sounding aggravated.  Goku became instantly annoyed at his cold reaction towards his sister’s transformation.  “Look, Vegeta,” Goku began, sounding serious.  “You can’t hold on to this grudge forever.  She’s your sister, not me, you should -,”  
“I almost killed her,” Vegeta interrupted, sounding as if he were holding back tears.  “I was seconds away from killing my little sister.”  
 _What does he mean he almost killed her?  After he spent all that time trying to find her, why would he almost kill her?_ Goku wondered, looking shocked.  Vegeta leaned forwards and put his elbows on the table and his hands over his face.   _Vegeta is really upset about this.  He’s never acted like this – at least not in public,_ Goku thought, looking at his obviously upset friend.  
“Hello there!  My name is Kasai.  What can I get for you?”  The waitress said as she walked over during the long moment of silence.  Vegeta didn’t move his face from his hands, and Goku answered her while still looking at Vegeta.  “Uh, two waters and uh a burger and three hotdogs,” he said nonchalantly as if he were just trying to get the waitress to go away.  “How would you like the burger cooked?”  Kasai asked.  
“Surprise me,” Goku replied.  
“Everything on it?”  She questioned.  
“Sure,” he said, trying to get her to hurry up and leave.   
“Two waters, a burger, and three hotdogs,” she said as she wrote the order down on the pad.  “And for you?”  She said looking towards Vegeta who was still in the same position with his elbows on the table and his hands covering his face.  Vegeta responded in silence.  
“He’s just here to keep me company,” Goku explained, looking up to the waitress for the first time.  
“Ok then,” Kasai replied, “I’ll have that right out.”  
“Thanks,” Goku said as he looked back towards Vegeta.  
             _God.  How could I have almost killed my sister?_ Vegeta thought to himself as a few more minutes of silence went by.  His mind began replaying the incident in the gravity room, and he saw himself holding the energy blast inches away from his sister and heard himself say, “don’t make me do it.”   _What kind of brother am I?  Fuck, my head is killing me.  This is all – too much.  What the hell is happening?_ He put pressure on his eyes to try to dull out excruciating, throbbing pain in his head, and Goku just sat across the table from him – sitting there silently and trying to find a way to figure out what had happened.   _Should I push him for answers?_ Goku asked himself.   _Should I just wait until he’s ready to tell me what happened? This is strange for Vegeta.  Either way, he felt that it was important enough to call me._    
            “Vegeta,” Goku finally said, quietly – in almost a whisper, sounding concerned.  Vegeta didn’t look up or utter a single word in reply.  “You don’t have to say anything.  Just listen,” Goku began, “whatever happened during your training, it must have been bad enough for you to have called me.  I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened.  From what I’ve seen from being around the two of you, and even before you found her, I can tell you truly care about and love her – even if you’ll never admit it.  I don’t believe that you would have almost killed her without a reason, so please, tell me what happened.  I might be able to help.”  
Again, Vegeta didn’t look up or say a single word.   _What’s it gonna take to get through to him?_ Goku wondered.   
“Here you go!”  Kasai said as she walked up to the table with two plates of food and two waters.  One of the plates had the burger that Goku ordered and the other one had the three hot dogs.  “I had the burger cooked medium rare, and I had them put everything on it.  All the condiments are right there,” she explained, pointing at the end of the table closest to the wall, “and here are your straws. Is there anything else I can get you?”  
“No, thanks.  We’re good,” Goku replied.  As Kasai walked away, Goku put one of the three hotdogs on the plate with the burger, put ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise on both of them, and opened one of the straw and put it in the cup of ice water.   
“Here,” he said as he slid the cup of water and the plate with the burger and hotdog towards Vegeta.  “I know you sit like that when you have a headache.  You need to eat something.”  
For the first time since he put his head down, Vegeta looked up at Goku and then looked down at the food and water he slid in front of him.  “Why are you doing this?”  Vegeta finally said after a few seconds of staring at the plates in front of him.  
“Because,” Goku began, “I’m trying to help you, and if I can’t help you by getting you to talk to me, then I’m going to help you by giving you food to get rid of your headache.”  
“I don’t need your handouts,” Vegeta scoffed as he pushed the plates and the cup back towards Goku and crossed his arms and looked away, but Goku pushed them right back.  “Eat,” he said.  Vegeta looked back at the food on the plates and then back up at Goku.  “I’ve always been amazed, Kakarot,” Vegeta said.  
“By what?”  Goku asked as he put condiments on his two hotdogs.  
“How, no matter what, you show kindness to everybody,” Vegeta explained.  “It amazes me how when I first came to Earth, you showed me mercy and kindness, and now, when you find out that I almost killed my little sister, you show me kindness.”  
“But you didn’t, Vegeta,” Goku tried to convince Vegeta.  “That’s what matters.”  Goku took a bite out of one of his hotdogs, and Vegeta continued to stare at the food on his plate.  
“You should have seen it,” Vegeta said quietly, still looking down.  
“Huh?”  Goku questioned.  
“Clara.  Whatever she transformed into…it wasn’t human,” Vegeta began to explain, beginning to feel a wave of fear come over him.  “She threw me off her back in six-hundred times gravity as if I were a bug crawling on her.  She threw me into the side of the gravity room, making me bust a hole leading into the backyard, and then she floated above me – back against the ceiling as I sat in shock on the ground.  She was surrounded by a dark red aura, and her eyes were like black holes.  There was no reflection in them, and they seemed to be like dark abysses.  Her voice lost all life, and her yell sounded like a lion’s roar.  Her teeth turned into razors, her sweet smile turned sadistic, and her hair turned pure white and surrounded her like a lion’s mane. Her nails turned pure black and almost claw-like.”  As Vegeta explained his sister’s transformation, he saw his hands begin to shake.  As Goku sat across him in pure shock, he couldn’t seem to form the words to come out of his mouth.   _That is no Saiyan transformation I’ve ever heard of,_ Goku thought.  “So…why do you think that you almost killed her?”  He asked Vegeta.  
“As she came down to face me, and stood inches away from me, I formed a Big Bang Attack.  When I was seconds away from firing it, I told her not to make me do it, and somehow, she formed the same attack, and then began repeating everything I said.  Eventually, I was able to calm her down, and she transformed back into normal and passed out.”  He explained.  Goku sat in complete silence and shock.  _I wasn’t expecting that,_ he thought.   _I thought maybe she turned into a new Super Saiyan form, but that doesn’t even sound like something a Saiyan would turn into._  
            “I feel like ever since we found her, we’ve only come up with more questions than answers,” Vegeta continued.  
“You’re right,” Goku said finally, “that’s not a Saiyan transformation.  It doesn’t even sound like one.  I have no idea what it is.”  
“There are too many questions about who and what she is that neither you, me, or her will ever be able to answer,” Vegeta confessed.  
“Hey.  You can’t think like that.  We’ll figure all this out.  No matter what, okay?”  Goku said, trying to give Vegeta hope.  
“No matter what?”  Vegeta questioned as if he was trying to make sure Goku heard what he had just said.  
“Yes.  No matter what,” he confirmed.  
“In that case, there may be one person who can help.”  
“Huh?  Who?”  Goku asked with a confused look on his face.  
“Our father,” Vegeta said boldly.  
 _Wait.  Did Vegeta just say ‘THEIR FATHER’?!_ Goku asked himself, obviously taken back by Vegeta’s boldness.  
“Your…your…father?”  He questioned.  
“Yes,” Vegeta confirmed, “if we can find some way to bring him back, he may know a lot more than we do.  I am his son, and she is his daughter after all.  There must have been some reason to have kept her secret, and I’m willing to bet it was his doing.”  
“Your…father,” Goku repeated, still sounding shocked.  
“Clara asked me when we were waiting on the DNA results if I would bring him back if there were a way, and I told her ‘yes’.  Now I’m thinking that bringing him back may be the only way to figure all this out.”  
“Two…two Vegetas,” Goku continued to babble on.  “I would have to deal with two Vegetas.”  
“Kakarot!”  Vegeta said loudly to get Goku’s attention.  “Are you even listening to me?!”  
“The…the King.  Bring back the King,” Goku continued, seeming to ignore Vegeta.  Vegeta, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, stepped on Goku’s foot underneath the table to get him out of his rambling.   
“Ow!”  Goku yelled.  “What was that for?!”  
“Were you even listening to me?”  Vegeta asked again.  
“Yes.  Sorry.”  Goku said.  “But there’s no way for it to be done.  He’s been dead for thirty-eight years, and Shenron can only revive those who are dead for no more than a year and still have a body.”  
“That’s pretty negative talk coming from an overly opptomistic muscle head like yourself,” Vegeta pointed out.  
“It’s not negative.  It’s realistic.  Even if we were to find a way to bring him back, what would happen to Earth?  He didn’t seem like a very caring and loving man,” Goku reminded Vegeta.  
“I think we could handle him,” Vegeta began to try to convince Goku, “you’re a Super Saiyan Three, I’m a Super Saiyan Two, Clara’s a…well, I don’t know what Clara is, and he’s just a Saiyan.”  
“We’d have to find a way to give Shenron enough power to revive someone who’s been dead for so long with no body to return to,” Goku pointed out as if he were trying to get Vegeta to drop his idea for reviving the King of Saiyans.  
“Then we will,” Vegeta insisted.  
Goku went silent for a moment, trying to come up with exceptions for Vegeta’s request.  
“Why are you even telling me about this?”  Goku asked.  
“You have more experience with the Dragon Balls, and I’m sure that Dende and the others would be more willing to help if they knew you were in on it,” Vegeta confessed.  
“Fine.  Under one condition,” Goku finally said. “If we are able to bring him back, we have to find a way to strip him of his power.  At least until we feel like we can trust him.  I don’t want to risk him running amuck on this planet.”  
“You wanna strip the Saiyan King’s power from him?”  Vegeta questioned to make sure that what he heard was correct.  
“Not forever,” Goku emphasized, “just until we can trust him.”  
“If that’s what it takes, then fine,” Vegeta reluctantly agreed.   _Strip a Saiyan’s power from him?  How could you even think of doing that?_ Vegeta thought.  With the two Saiyans finally in agreement, they continued to eat their food.  “Is that really all you’re going to eat?”  Vegeta asked Goku, sounding suspicious.  
“It’s all I had money for,” Goku admitted, “I was going to eat the burger and the three hot dogs, but I decided that you looked so miserable that should have something too, and look.  It worked.”  Goku said with a grin on his face.  Vegeta didn’t thank Goku for his generosity, but instead, he showed a small smile, which Goku knew at this point was the equivalent of saying ‘thank you’.   
  
“You’re welcome, Vegeta,” Goku said again, still with the smile on his face.


	18. Clara Saga - Part Eighteen

**Part Eighteen - Phase One:** **Possibility**

**"Based on the law of probability**

**Everything is possible because**

**The sheer existence of possibility**

**Confirms existence**

**Of impossibility."**

**\- Dejan Stojanovic**

 

“You wanna what?!”  Dende exclaimed as Goku and Vegeta told him their plan to bring back King Vegeta.  
“You heard us,” Vegeta said.  
“I’m sorry guys, but I can’t allow the Earth to be in jeopardy again,” Dende emphasized.  “After Majin Buu blew the Earth up, I swore to protect her from anymore danger.”  
“But Dende,” Goku began to plead, “we will have him under control.”  
“How are you planning on doing that?”  Dende questioned, sounding suspicious.  
“We’ll use the first wish to bring him back to life and the second wish to get rid of his power until we think it’s safe for him to have it back,” Goku explained.  
“Even if I were to agree with it, there would still be no way for Shenron to grant it.  Shenron can only revive people who have been dead for no more than a year, and they must have a body,” Dende countered, trying to unconvince the two Saiyans.  
“That’s why we’re here,” Vegeta began, “can’t you strengthen the dragon’s power to grant it?”  
Dende looked at Goku and Vegeta in pure shock.  “You want me to strengthen Shenron’s power just so you can wish the King of Saiyans back to life?”  
“Please, Dende.  It could really help out Clara,” Goku said with a wink and a nudge as if he were trying to hint at something, and Dende began to blush.  After a few seconds, Dende realized that he was blushing at the thought of the young Saiyan and quickly snapped himself out of it, but not before catching Vegeta’s attention.  “Look,” Dende said, “I’m not going to risk the Earth being blown up again – no matter what.”  Goku and Vegeta both dropped their heads – feeling utterly defeated.  
            “Hey guys!  It’s King Kai!”  King Kai said to Goku, Vegeta, and Dende.  
“Hey!  King Kai!”  Goku yelled back.  “Long time no talk.  How ya been?”  
“There’s no time for small talk, Goku.  I’ve been listening to what you and Vegeta are planning.  Come see me and we’ll talk,” he insisted, sounding serious.  
“But King Kai,” Dende began before being interrupted.  
“Trust me, Dende.  I know what I’m doing, and trust me, it’ll help save the Earth,” King Kai persisted.  Goku put his index and middle finger to his forehead and searched for King Kai’s energy.  “There he is!”  Goku exclaimed.  “Grab hold, Vegeta!”  As Vegeta walked towards Goku to grab onto his shoulder, he turned around and had a stare down with Dende, who seemed to look nervous.  “Stay away from my sister,” Vegeta told Dende bluntly as he grabbed onto Goku’s shoulder and left via instant transmission.  
            After a few seconds, the two Saiyans appeared on King Kai’s planet, and were welcomed by King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory.  “Ah, you’re here. Finally,” King Kai said as he ran over to Goku and Vegeta.  
“What’s going on King Kai?”  Goku asked, sounding curious.  “It sounded urgent.”  
“It’s about Clara,” King Kai began to explain.  
“Huh?  What about her?”  Goku asked, sounding confused.  
“Follow me and we’ll talk,” he replied.  King Kai began to walk towards his small house with the two Saiyans in tow.  “Do you think King Kai knows something?”  Goku leaned over and whispered to Vegeta.  
“Why else would he have called us here?  Moron,” Vegeta said, sounding annoyed.  After following King Kai into his house, Goku and Vegeta sat down at the table with him.  
“Are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Vegeta impatiently asked.  
“Yeah, King Kai.  What do you know about Clara?”  Goku added.  
“You both must first promise to listen to every word I speak,” King Kai told them as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.  
“I promise,” Goku confidently said.  
“Fine,” Vegeta added.  
 _What could he possibly know about Clara?  He can’t know more than we do,_ Vegeta thought.  
“You’re wrong, Vegeta,” King Kai said in response to Vegeta’s doubtful thoughts.  “I know more than you would probably like me to, and I must tell you that what you’re about to hear might not be easy.”  
“What are you babbling on about?  Get to the point already,” Vegeta interrupted, sounding offended.  
“Ever since Clara crashed on Earth, I’ve been watching her out of suspicion, and when I found out that she and Vegeta were twins, my suspicion grew even more.  Then, when I saw her transformation in the gravity chamber with Vegeta, my suspicions were confirmed,” King Kai began to explain.  
“What suspicions, King Kai?”  Goku asked, sounding curious.  
“I’ve seen that transformation before,” King Kai confessed.  Goku and Vegeta looked at each other with confused faces, and then they both looked at King Kai as if they were waiting for him to explain.  “It was many, many years ago, before Planet Plant became Planet Vegeta, and before King Vegeta was conceived.  It was back when the Tuffles and the Saiyans lived in peace, and one day, I saw a Saiyan perform the same transformation as Clara did.  To this day, I don’t know who the Saiyan was, but I was able to see the terrifying demon-like monster they turned into, and saw the power that they possessed.  The transformation caused the Saiyan’s power to rise so substantially that they were able to blow up half of the planet with a single yell.  It wasn’t until after half of the planet had been blown up, and a considerable amount of Tuffles and Saiyans were killed, that the Saiyan just vanished, and was never seen again.  Not long after the Saiyan’s disappearance, a long war between the two races began – ultimately being ended with King Vegeta delivering the final blow, thus making him King of the Saiyans.  So many years went by, that I had actually forgotten about the Saiyan’s transformation – until Clara, the secret daughter of King Vegeta, showed the same transformation.”  
“So it is a Saiyan transformation?”  Goku excitedly asked.  “How cool!  I bet it’s stronger than any super Saiyan transformation in existence!”  
“No, Goku!”  King Kai yelled.  “You’re missing the point!”  
“So what?  Do you think that Clara and the other Saiyan are the same person?”  Goku asked.  
“I’m not sure.  It could be a possibility,” King Kai speculated.  
“No,” Vegeta said bluntly.  King Kai and Goku both looked at him with looks of confusion on their face.  “They aren’t the same person,” he clarified.   
“Really?  How can you be so sure?” King Kai asked him.  
“Yeah.  I mean, there is that whole age issue,” Goku added.  
“The Saiyans from back then were proud, strong, warriors who took over planets – that’s true, but I know my father, and I know that there’s no way that he would wipe out another race, especially a race that was beneficial to Saiyans because of their advanced medical technology, without a reason – a good reason.  His pride was in the Saiyan race, and getting rid of a race for no reason that was needed by the Saiyans would have been foolish,” Vegeta began to explain. “I’m convinced that the Saiyan with the same transformation as Clara was killed by the Tuffles in order to end his or her murderous rampage, and it sparked the initial war between the two races.  Then, when my father came up and proved to be the strongest warrior at the time, instead of calling a stop to the long drawn out war, he was the one who finished it – the one to cause the Tuffles to go extinct.  He wouldn’t have felt the need to finish it himself if it wasn’t personal to him.  There’s absolutely no way he would fight in a war if he didn’t know what it was for – there’s no honor in finishing someone else’s war that was started many years before he even existed.”  
 _Dammit, father,_ Vegeta thought.  _Did you know about this transformation?  Why was it kept secret from the rest of us?_  
 “Exactly,” King Kai said.  
“Wait,” Goku interrupted, “so you think that King Vegeta knew about this transformation?”  
“What are the odds, Kakarot?”  Vegeta questioned.  “What are the odds that a Saiyan all those years ago had the same transformation as Clara?  How strange is it that the only other known Saiyan to have that transformation is King Vegeta’s daughter that no one ever knew anything about?  As I said, my father wouldn’t have fought a war if he didn’t know exactly how and why it started.  He wasn’t a follower, so fighting just because everyone else was doesn’t make sense.  He knew about this transformation and the Saiyan who first performed it.”  A few seconds went by as they all thought about the point that Vegeta made.  _I refuse to believe that he didn’t know anything,_ Vegeta thought to himself.  _I only knew him for the first five years of my life, but that’s still better than anyone else here.  A noble man.  An honorable and proud man.  He wouldn’t have blindly followed others into battle._ Vegeta’s fists began to shake as the thoughts of his father’s possible knowledge coursed through his head.  
“Hey Vegeta,” Goku said as he noticed Vegeta’s uneasiness, snapping him out of his thoughts.  
“There’s no way,” Vegeta said quietly, “there’s absolutely no way that he didn’t know about this.  The odds are too great.”  
“That’s why I asked you both to come here,” King Kai butted in.  “After I saw Clara transform, and I heard Vegeta talk about bringing the King back, I started doing some research, because like Vegeta, I’m convinced that the King knew more than anyone else, and with that transformation being as powerful as it is, I fear that the Earth may be in danger.”  
“Hang on,” Goku said.  “But you and Vegeta both agreed that the Tuffles most likely killed the Saiyan who first transformed in order to stop the killings.  Vegeta didn’t have to kill Clara to stop her.”  
“Yes,” King Kai said, “that’s another mystery that King Vegeta might have known the answer to.”  
“We have to bring him back,” Vegeta said quietly, appearing to still be in his own world.  
“Indeed,” King Kai agreed.  “Now if you two would shut up for five minutes, I will explain what I discovered!”  
Goku stopped asking his unanswerable questions, and Vegeta snapped out of his own little world to pay attention to King Kai.  
            “As you both know, Planet Vegeta was blown up by Frieza thirty-eight years ago.  But what you don’t know is that King Vegeta was not on the planet at that time.”  Both of the Saiyans looked at King Kai in shock and confusion.  “He was in fact on Frieza’s ship trying to get his son back.  As he and his army marched through Frieza’s ship and made their way to the control room, King Vegeta was met with a single uppercut from the evil tyrant.  At the time, it was thought to have killed him, but my recent findings prove that to be false.  Because I felt that this situation was eminent, I asked my fellow Kais for help.  To my surprise, South Kai got back to me almost as soon as I asked, and he told me quite a tale.  According to South Kai, there’s a planet that lies right outside my North Area territory called “Nioria”.”   
 _Nioria,_ Vegeta thought.  _Why does that name sound so familiar?_    
“Since it’s technically in South Kai’s territory, I never knew it existed.  Apparently, as soon as Frieza blew up Planet Vegeta, he unknowingly left the North Area and entered the South Area, and because of the speed that he was traveling, he caught the attention of South Kai.  He soon realized that Frieza’s ship stopped at Planet Nioria for a few minutes, and when they took off, South Kai’s curiosity grew and he focused on Planet Nioria until he saw the sight of a man who had a tail wrapped around his waist with tall, spikey brown hair and beard, wearing a blue and red cape, a red and white vest, a gray long sleeve shirt, gray pants, blue boots, and white gloves.”  As King Kai began to describe King Vegeta’s appearance, Vegeta’s mind began to flood with thoughts of his father.  “That’s him,” he said quietly, almost as if he were confirming it to himself.   
“So Frieza dumped his body on this Planet Nioria?”  Goku asked.  
“Not exactly,” King Kai rebutted.  “As South Kai kept watching the man who had been thrown onto the planet, he watched him get up and move around.  Obviously, the uppercut from Frieza didn’t kill him – it merely knocked him unconscious; however, soon after he got up, he collapsed again and laid unconscious for two days before anyone on Planet Nioria found him.  A couple of Neodans, found him lying in the ditch that he had caused when he was thrown to the surface.  Due to the Neodans' kind nature, they picked him up and carried him to the nearest hospital where he laid alive, but in a coma for the next thirty-eight years.  Because the Neodans are an incredibly advanced civilization, they were able to give him the proper medical care that he needed in order to survive.”  
 _My father…the King…is ALIVE?_ Vegeta asked himself.  To Vegeta, it felt like he was in a dream.   
“So King Vegeta is still alive, but unconscious on Planet Nioria?”  Goku questioned, sounding hopeful.  
“Alive?  Yes.  On Planet Nioria?  Yes.  Unconscious?  No,” King Kai affirmed.  
“But you just said that he was in a coma,” Vegeta reminded him.  
“I said he WAS in a coma.  He woke up the same day that Clara crashed on Earth.”  
 _He’s…alive.  He’s…walking around right now as we speak,_ Vegeta kept thinking to himself.  
“Ah man!”  Goku exclaimed.  “This is perfect!  Now all we have to do is gather the dragon balls and ask Shenron to bring him here!”  
“That won’t work,” King Kai said, effectively killing all hope that Goku and Vegeta had.  
“What do you mean that won’t work?!”  Vegeta yelled.  
“Shenron isn’t powerful enough to grant wishes across different quadrants,” he informed them.  
“Damn,” Goku said as he snapped his fingers.  “Then how are we supposed to get him here?”  
All three of them sat silently for a few minutes, trying to think of ways to get the King to Earth.  “Some shit like this would happen,” Vegeta said.  “We know exactly where he is, and that’s he’s alive, but we have no way of getting him here.”  
“Hmm.  Do you think that instant transmission would work, King Kai?”  Goku asked, sounding as if it were a last resort.   
“I’m not sure, Goku.  It may be too far of a jump.  South Kai’s planet is closer to it than mine is, so I doubt you’d even be able to detect his energy from here.  He just woke up from a thirty-eight-year long coma – I highly doubt he’s out and about fighting battles,” King Kai pointed out.  
“Wait a second!”  Vegeta butted in, suddenly full of hope.  “What if we did instant transmission from here, to South Kai’s planet, and then to Planet Nioria?!  Sure South Kai could point us in the right direction at least.  After all, he did tell King Kai that Planet Nioria is right over the border of the North and South quadrants!”  
“That might actually work,” King Kai joined in.  “If Goku can manage to find King Vegeta’s energy signal, then it should work perfectly.”  
“Do you think that South Kai would be willing to help us?”  Goku questioned.   
As Goku asked the last question, King Kai began to contact South Kai, and ask for his assistance.  
“Do you think we should go get Clara?”  Goku asked Vegeta as the two of them followed King Kai outside.  
“No,” he said bluntly, “there’s no telling what could happen.”  
“What are you talking about?  What could possibly happen?”  Goku questioned.  
“What if she transforms again and ends up killing everyone, including us, on that planet?”  Vegeta pointed out.  “I’d rather figure out what he knows about it before bringing her around him.  He may have a way to control it.”  
“Oh.  I gotcha,” Goku agreed.  
“Besides, Bulma should be home by now, so she won’t be alone,” Vegeta informed Goku, but it seemed like he was trying to make himself feel more comfortable with leaving Clara home.  
            “Okay,” King Kai said.  “South Kai is waiting for your arrival.”  
“Thank you so much, King Kai,” Goku said as he shook his hand.  
“Yes.  Thank you,” Vegeta reiterated.  Goku put his index and middle finger up to his forehead and King Kai pointed him in the right direction.  “Got him!”  Goku exclaimed.  “Grab hold, Vegeta!”  For the first time, Vegeta didn’t hesitate to grab hold of Goku’s shoulder, and the two of them vanished and appeared on South Kai’s planet within a matter of seconds.

 


	19. Clara Saga - Part Nineteen

**Part Nineteen - Phase Two: Action**

**"The proverb warns that, 'You should not bite the hands that feeds you.' But maybe you should if it prevents you from feeding yourself." - Thomas Szasz**

 

When Clara awoke a few hours later, she found herself feeling somewhat of a hangover.  _What the hell was that?_ She thought to herself.  She sat up in the bed that Vegeta had laid her down in a put her hands up to her face.  “Holy shit, my head,” she mumbled as she put pressure on her eyes with the palms of her hands.  As she got out of the bed, she realized that she was in her training clothes.  _I should probably get a shower and change,_ she suggested to herself.  She walked over to the bathroom, got a shower, brushed her teeth, and put on a clean change of clothes – blue jeans, a white tank top, and a black jacket zipped halfway up.  _Much better,_ she thought.  As she finished getting dressed, she decided that going on a walk might help her figure out what happened to her in the gravity room with her brother.  All she could remember of that fateful event was him sitting on her back, her getting angry, and then her eyesight changing dramatically.  She began walking towards her bedroom door, and on her way out, she grabbed her new black training shoes and flipped the light off.  _Maybe Vegeta knows what happened,_ she thought.  _I have to find him._ However, as she walked downstairs into the living room, she realized that her brother wasn’t there.  _Huh.  I wonder where he could be._ Before Clara had time to speculate where her brother might be, her thoughts were interrupted by someone on the phone in the next room.  
            “I think it’s so great that you are helping this little girl in her time of need,” a person on the other line said over the speaker phone.  From what Clara could hear, it was an elderly woman.  
“Thank you so much, ma’am.  We here at Capsule Corp take pride in helping the unfortunate,” a familiar voice replied.  _Is that…Bulma?_ Clara asked herself.  _Who the hell is she talking to?  And about?_  
“It breaks my heart to know that she has no family and no memories,” the strange voice replied.  “I’d be more than happy to donate to her.  How’s $2,000 sound?”  _No family?_ Clara quietly moved closer to the dining room entryway to find Bulma sitting at the table with her phone sitting on speaker mode and a piece of paper full of numbers, names, and addresses.  As she watched her write down “$2,000”, she realized what Bulma was doing.  Some of the other numbers on the paper read “$5,000, $100, $10,000, $200, $1,000, and $500.  _You lying bitch,_ Clara thought as she felt anger race through her.  
“Sounds great, ma’am.  And again.  Thank you so much.  I’m sure our guest will appreciate your help,” Bulma replied as she and the elderly woman got off the phone.  As Bulma went to dial another number, Clara walked into the dining room doorway, visibly upset with her arms crossed and a pissed off expression.  
            “So what’re you doing?”  Clara bluntly asked, already knowing the answer.  
“Oh, Clara!”  Bulma exclaimed.  “I’m glad to see you’re awake.  I’m just handling some business accounts.  How are you feeling?”  
“Just handling some business accounts?”  Clara replied annoyed, ignoring Bulma’s question.  
“Yes.  Is there something wrong with that?”  Bulma asked, sounding concerned.  
“Drop the sweet, sentimental act,” Clara demanded as she glared at Bulma, “I know what you’re doing.  I heard everything.”  
“Oh?  What am I doing?”  Bulma replied, still sounding concerned.  
“You’re using me as your charity case – taking money from people by using me as your sob story – pretending to play hero,” Clara said with anger in her voice.  Bulma did as Clara told her to do and dropped the sentimental act.  “And so what if I am?”  Bulma asked, not sounding concerned anymore.  “Why should I stop them if they want to send money?”  
“Because that’s what a decent person does – especially if they don’t even need it,” Clara explained.  “You’re the wealthiest family in the world.  There’s no need for you to be taking money from people.”  
Bulma stood up from her chair and walked to Clara to look her in the face.  “Aren’t you forgetting?  Because of you, SAS is gone, which means that Capsule Corp’s investment in them doesn’t mean anything anymore – there’s no income coming off of that investment.  Because of you, I’m out $960.  And because of you, Capsule Corp owes Doctor Sosa $15,000 extra this year for that little DNA test.”  
“You have got to be fucking joking, right?”  Clara questioned, feeling so aggravated that a smile came across her face and she let out a slight chuckle.  “First of all, I never asked my brother to come save me – he did that on his own free will.  I never asked you to give me money for clothes – in fact, I tried to deny it, but you insisted.  And as for that DNA test – that was Vegeta’s idea.  Not mine.”  
“You’re the common denominator in all of those situations, Clara,” Bulma insisted.  “If you had never come here, none of this would be happening.  Why did you even come here?  Oh, wait.”  
“I never once asked for your handouts,” Clara said sternly.  “Give those people their money back.”  
“And what if I don’t?  What’re you going to do? Kill me?”  Bulma asked, almost sounding amused.  “If you did that, well, I don’t think Vegeta would want anything to do with you anymore.”  
“I’m Vegeta’s little sister.  I’m pretty sure I hold more power than you do right now.  All I’d have to do is tell my brother what you’re doing, and then I know that he’ll want nothing more to do with you,” Clara insisted.  “Just give them their money back, and this won’t leave us.”  
“That’s not going to happen,” Bulma said, “Did you ever stop and ask yourself why I need this money?  Because trust me, it’s not for you.  You see, if you were to rat me out to Vegeta, he would leave me – you’re right about that.  And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad because at least Trunks would be old enough to understand what was going on.  However, this little one wouldn’t,” she said as she looked down at put her hands over her stomach.  “He doesn’t know yet, but inside me is mine and Vegeta’s unborn baby.”  _You can’t be serious right now,_ Clara thought as she closed her eyes.  “And if you’re the kind of sister that I think you are, then you won’t tear his family that’s still growing, apart.”  
 _This bitch isn’t pregnant,_ Clara told herself as she remembered back to the condom conversation she and Vegeta had.  _He hasn’t had sex with her in over a month because he couldn’t find them and he’s too embarrassed to buy them.  There’s no way she could be pregnant.  Oh well, I can use this to my advantage._ Clara stood there looking at Bulma for a few seconds without uttering a single word.  A few moments later, she simply turned around and walked out of the dining room, knowing that the ball was in her court.  
“Why don’t you go back where you came from?!”  Bulma yelled at her as she walked out.  “Oh wait.  I forgot.  You don’t have a home.”  
 _Is that really the best insult she has?_ Clara thought with a chuckle.  
“And you can keep those clothes of yours you ungrateful Saiyan brat!”  Bulma yelled as Clara walked away.  “You can keep them as a reminder of how good I was to you!”  
 _Poor Vegeta,_ Clara thought.  _She’d better not tell him that she’s pregnant…if she hurts him, I swear to God I’ll rip her head off and tear her limb from limb, and as her blood pours out I’ll…_ Clara’s thinking was interrupted when she noticed her fists beginning to shake and a smile come across her face at the thought of hurting her sister-in-law.  _Shit, Clara,_ she thought to herself as she stopped in front of the front door, closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath.  _Calm yourself down.  She’s just a lying bitch that’ll get what’s coming to her, but she was right about one thing…I don’t have a home – at least not anymore._ As the front door slid open and the cold air hit her face, she threw her hood on top of her head and walked out in the freezing weather.  _Home,_ she thought to herself as she remembered what Bulma said about going home, _I wish I knew where home was._ In that moment, she remembered 22nd and Rian Street.  “The crash site,” she whispered to herself as she walked towards the road.  She remembered the crash site that Vegeta and Goku had to pull her away from.  _What if there’s something there that helps me remember?  I have to at least go see.  It’s not too far from here._  
            Clara walked in the direction of the crash site, and thought about what she might find.  _Why was is covered up?_ She thought.  _Why haven’t they moved it?  What’s the point in keeping it there?_  
“Hey there, pretty lady,” she heard a voice say.  She was so into her thoughts that she didn’t notice the three men on the other side of the road following her.  She was pulled out of her train of thought by the out-out-the-blue comment and stopped to look at the men.  One of them wore a white hoodie with the hood over his head, black sweat pants, and had long blond hair, another one wore a long sleeve green shirt, blue jeans, and had shaggy brown hair, and the third one wore a blue hoodie, black jeans, and had jet black hair that covered half of his face.  All three of them were about six feet tall and medium builds.  _The hell do these clowns want?_ She asked herself, feeling annoyed that she was pulled out of her thoughts.  
“Hey!  Did you hear me?!”  The man with the long blond hair repeated.  “A woman should answer a man when he speaks to her!”  
 _Is that right?_ Clara thought as an evil smirk came across her face.  _Now isn’t really the best time to be making new friends, but I guess I’ll play their little game._  
 “Coming!”  Clara yelled across the street in a cheerful, happy tone with a smile on her face.  She gracefully walked across the carless street and arrived on the other side within a few seconds.  “I’m so sorry about that,” she said, acting sincere, “I was in my own little world.”  
The three men looked at her and the one with the blond hair spoke.  “Well that’s no excuse to ignore a man.  I’m Kuramoto,” he introduced himself.  “This is Tanji,” he said as he pointed to the brown-headed man, “and this is Ogura,” he said as he pointed to the black-haired man.   
“Well, it was nice to meet you,” Clara said as she turned to walk away.  As she turned her back towards them and headed back towards the other side of the road, Tanji grabbed her right arm.  “Didn’t we tell you that a woman should always obey a man?”  He asked.  _Seriously?  Do they really wanna play this game with me right now?_ Clara thought as she looked over her shoulder at the arm that was squeezing hers.  “You’ll leave when we say you can leave,” Kuramoto added.  
“Okay,” Clara sighed, sounding uninterested.  “Look, I’d love to stay and play this little dominance game with you, but I seriously have a ton of other things that I’d rather do.  Now, either remove your arm from me, or I’ll remove it for you,” she said in an annoyed tone as she turned her head towards the men.  
“Mmm.  Feisty.  I like it,” Ogura said quietly.  
“Same here,” Kuramoto added along with Tanji.  Tanji squeezed her arm even harder.  “I’ll bet she’s even feistier in bed,” Ogura said, sounding turned on.  
Clara let out a sigh.  “Okay.  That’s it,” she said, sounding uninterested.  The three men looked at each other in confusion.  “What do you not understand little girl?!”  Kuramoto yelled, sounding aggravated.  “I told you that a woman must obey a man!”   
“You’re not a man.  You’re Earthling scum, and it just so happens that I’ve been feeling a little blood thirsty today,” Clara said with a smile, and as the three men looked at each other again in confusion, Clara turned her head back towards the other side of the road, grabbed Tanji’s arm with her free arm, and threw him over her shoulder and across the street.  Before the others had time to react, she quickly hit Ogura with a knee to the groin and Kuramoto with a hard right jab to the stomach, and caused both of them to spit up blood and fall over.  After she made sure that the three perverted men were incapacitated, she went back to the other side of the road and continued walking towards the crash site.  “Vegeta was right.  Earthling men are cowards,” she told herself.  After a few minutes of walking, her bloodthirstiness seemed to disappear and regret set in.  _What was I thinking?_ She asked herself.  _Did I really need to hurt them that bad?  Why did I feel the need to even go over to them?  I know I could have gotten away from them easily if they had followed me._  She looked down at her hands that were yet again shaking.  She balled them into fists – hoping that they would stop shaking, and it seemed to work.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, and as she opened her eyes and exhaled, she noticed the street signs that read “22nd St and Rian St”.  As she looked to the right, down the street, she saw it.  She saw the large blue tarp that still covered the large, metal, round shaped object.  “There it is,” Clara said to herself.  She looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to her as she walked down.  There were maybe a handful of people walking and some cars drove by every now and then.  The weather was freezing, so most people decided to stay indoors.  _Why is it still just sitting in the concrete?  Why don’t they at least have people watching it?_ She asked herself.  As she started slowly walking down the road, she saw how cracked the concrete was and saw chucks of it pulled up from the Earth.  “I did this?”  She questioned herself as she observed the damage.  “Did I hurt anybody?”  As she got closer to the wreckage, she could see the caution tape that held the blue tarp in place, and she could feel her adrenaline and heart beat go up significantly.  As she got closer, she could feel a lump in her throat when she tried to swallow and it felt like she had the breath knocked out of her.  Suddenly, the memories of her lying on the ground, covered in blood, bruises, and broken bones came flooding back.  She could remember the heat of the concrete and the way it burned her skin.  She could hear the cars coming to a screeching halt and the man’s voice over the radio yelling for an ambulance.  As she began removing the caution tape from the tarp, her nervousness seemed to grow even more.  Once she got enough of it off so that she could lift the tarp, she saw the ship she had crashed in.  It was large and circular.  The outside that was painted black and decorated with blue trim was now scratched and torn apart.  She could see the lights that were once clear were now cracked and filled with concrete and dirt.  She saw that the windows were busted open and glass was shattered all over the ground.  In front of the front windshield, she saw pools of blood.  “Is that…mine?”  She asked quietly.  As she looked through the front windshield, she could see the roof caving in and the interior ripping apart.  The once leather seats were torn out of their place and ripped apart.  _Maybe Vegeta was right,_ she thought.  _Maybe I shouldn’t have come down here…at least not alone._ She stared at the horror scene that was once her mode of transportation and wondered how she made it out alive.  After a few seconds, she made up her mind. _Oh well, I’m already down here – might as well do what I came here for._ She took a deep breath and made her way through the front busted out windshield – making sure not to cause any more cuts on her skin.  As she landed inside, she had to remain squatted down in order for her head not to hit the caved in roof.  She began searching the main control panel area in hopes of finding something that might have some meaning, but after a few minutes of searching, she wasn’t able find anything.  _Could it have been possible that I didn’t have anything?_ She thought.  _Could it be possible that I had my memories taken in a different way before I even came here?_ “No,” she said to herself.  “That couldn’t have happened.”  As she began to grow hopeless in her search, she grabbed one of the badly torn apart used to be leather seats, sat it upright, and sat down in it.  As she sat down in it, the bottom fell out of it.  _I really hope that was because of the condition of the seat, and not me,_ she thought to herself.  As she stood up from the completely destroyed seat, she noticed a backpack that had been inside the seat cushion.  _Huh?  A hidden bag?_ She thought.  _What is a bag doing hidden inside a seat cushion?_ As she opened up the cushion she noticed a yellow and white backpack that was in perfect condition.  _I must have really cared for whatever’s in this bag.  Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so protected._ As she examined the backpack, she noticed a label that said it was fireproof.  She took a deep breath in and began to unzip the obvious precious backpack.  As she finished unzipping it and slowly opened it up, she looked inside.  As she took the objects out one by one and laid them out, she couldn’t remember why they were obviously so precious to her.  “What are these things?”  She quietly asked herself.  _There must have been a reason to hang on to them, but what was it?_ After staring at the objects in front of her, and being unable to figure out what they were and why they had so much meaning to her – enough meaning to hide them in a fireproof bag inside of a seat cushion, tears began to stream down her face as she felt her heart sink to her feet.  When the cold weather started to produce freezing rain, she closed the busted front windshield with the tarp and then lied down on the floor next to the objects that had belonged to her in another life.

 

**"Family means that no one is left behind or forgotten." - David Ogden Stiers**

 

“That’s him,” Vegeta said as he and Goku held their hands on South Kai’s back to look at the Saiyan King on Planet Nioria, “father.”  Through South Kai, they were able to see King Vegeta lying in a hospital bed wide awake and seemingly bored out of his mind.  
“Wow, Vegeta,” Goku said.  “You’re a spitting image of him.  How cool.”  
“He always took pride in how alike we were.”  
“So, how did you know to find him or even where to look?”  Goku asked as he and Vegeta took their hands down.  
“All those years ago when he was first dropped by Frieza, I never stopped being suspicious of him.  Then when North Kai put the alert out, I remembered that you two were Saiyans, and from watching the two of you fight Majin Buu, I knew you looked almost exactly alike the man who was dropped by Frieza, but I never thought to make the connection before now,” he said, pointing to Vegeta.  “I turned my attention to Nioria, and found that the man who was in the coma for so many years, finally woke up.”  
“It’s all so strange to me,” Goku said as he rubbed the back of his head, “but I guess all that matters is that now we have a way to help Clara.  So which way is it South Kai?”  
South Kai pointed Goku into the direction of Planet Nioria, and Goku started to search for King Vegeta’s energy.  “I got him!”  Goku exclaimed.  “Come on Vegeta!  Let’s go!”  Vegeta grabbed hold of Goku’s shoulder, but soon let go.         
“Hang on, Kakarot,” Vegeta said suddenly as they were about to head for Planet Nioria.  
“Huh?  What’s wrong, Vegeta?”  Goku asked, sounding concerned as he took his fingers off of his forehead and looked at Vegeta who was clearly shaken,  
 _What is this?_ Vegeta thought as he stared at his shaking hands.  _This feeling in my stomach.  Nervousness?  Fear?_  
“Are you alright?”  South Kai asked as he saw Vegeta shaking.  
 _Surely this can’t be real.  It has to be a dream.  My father died all those years ago.  He can’t be alive,_ Vegeta tried to convince himself, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself that none of this was real, Goku and South Kai were there to remind him that King Vegeta was very much alive and not that far away.  
“I don’t think I can do this,” he finally said to Goku and South Kai.  
“What?  After how long you took to convince me that it was a good idea to bring him back, you wanna back out?”  Goku asked, sounding shocked.  
“That was when I thought he was dead – blown into pieces by Frieza,” Vegeta explained, still looking at his shaking hands.  
“I don’t understand,” South Kai said, “what’s the difference?”  
“When I thought he was dead and didn’t have a body, I wouldn’t have been upset if we weren’t able to bring him back to life, all that would have mattered was that I at least tried, but now that I know he’s alive and well, it changes things,” he explained.  “There’s no bringing him back to life.  All we have to do is go to Nioria, find my father, and take him to Earth.  And then what are we supposed to do?  Live happily ever after as a Saiyan community?  Restore the hierarchy?  Find other surviving Saiyans?  Make a new home on a new planet?”  
“Vegeta,” Goku said as he placed his hand on Vegeta’s shoulder, “he can help us answer all of those questions, but don’t forget – we’re doing this for your sister.  And you know what else I think?”  Goku said.  “I think that if you truly believed that your father was dead, you would’ve been calling yourself the King of all Saiyans instead of Prince for all these years.”  
 _He’s right,_ Vegeta thought.  _I never truly accepted my father’s death._  
Vegeta didn’t say another word.  He stood there in silence along with the two others for a few seconds.  “So.  What do you say we do whatever it takes to help Clara?”  Goku said as he held out his hand to Vegeta.  
“Let’s go,” Vegeta finally said with a smirk as he stopped shaking.  
“There’s the Vegeta I know!”  Goku exclaimed as Vegeta put his hand on Goku’s shoulder and Goku put his index and middle finger on his forehead to perform instant transmission. “Uh.  South Kai?”  Goku said, sounding embarrassed.  
“What is it Goku?”  South Kai replied.  
“Um.  Which way is Planet Nioria, again?”  
South Kai turned Goku into the direction of Nioria once again, and Goku began to focus on King Vegeta’s energy.  “I got it!”  Goku exclaimed after almost thirty seconds of searching.  The two Saiyans took off and headed for Planet Nioria – the planet where the Saiyan King had been for all these years.

 

 


	20. Clara Saga - Part 20

**Part 20 - Phase Three: Reunion**

 

  Planet Nioria – a stunning planet that lies right inside the South quadrant, and home to one of the most advanced races in the universe – the Neodans.  Planet Nioria possesses highly advanced medical equipment and technology.  The planet possesses a surplus of organically grown medicines, foods, and many lakes full of fresh water perfect for drinking– so much that most of the companies are forced to give most of their products away in order to make more room for the new food and medicines that the planet grows daily.  The skies of Nioria are always blue and cloudless even at night, and the grass is always perfectly cut and stays the greenest that grass can be.  The Neodans are a kind and caring race.  They resemble the human race except for four feet being considered tall, their skin is dark green, and their eyes are all bright blue.  Neodans whose specialty is medicine and technology have short black hair, and Neodans whose specialty is in food have short yellow hair, and Neodans with no certain specialties have light green hair. Yet, somehow, a planet such as Nioria sounded familiar to the Saiyan Prince.  
            “Woah,” Goku said as they arrived on Nioria.  “This place is gorgeous.”  Goku and Vegeta both looked around a saw the gorgeous blue skies, the green grass, and the beautiful fresh water lakes.  They watched as children, men, and women went to the lakes and left carrying buckets full of fresh, cold water.  “Hey look, Vegeta!”  Goku exclaimed as he watched the Neodans.  “You’re about the same height as them!”  He joked.  However, Vegeta didn’t find Goku’s height joke to be as funny as Goku did, and scoffed at his height joke.  “Shut up, Kakarot,” he said, sounding annoyed as he crossed his arms and turned his head away from Goku.  “Where are we?  I thought you locked onto my father’s energy signal,” Vegeta questioned Goku.  
“Huh.  That’s weird,” Goku pointed out, “he should be right here – at least this is where he was a few seconds ago.”  Goku and Vegeta both looked around the area they showed up in – a small village home to several young Neodan families.  _This doesn’t make sense,_ Vegeta thought.  _My father should have been right there. He couldn’t have moved that far that quickly._  
“Excuse me,” a young Neodan said to Vegeta as he was trying to figure out where his father could have gone, “are you lost?  Can I help you find something?”  
The young Neodan appeared shorter than most of the others.  _He must be a child,_ Vegeta thought.  He stood at about two feet tall and had yellow hair – making him have a specialty in food harvesting.  “Hi there!”  Goku exclaimed as he saw the Neodan talking to Vegeta.  “Can you help us find someone?”  
“I’d love to help!”  The Neodan exclaimed happily.  
“Ok.  His name is King Vegeta, and he crashed here about thirty-eight years ago.”  Goku explained.  
“Thirty-eight years?!”  The young Neodan questioned, sounding shocked.  
“Yes.  Have you heard of him or know where he might be?”  Vegeta asked as he looked down at the clearly shocked Neodan.  
“Thirty-eight years?  Are you sure?”  
Goku and Vegeta looked at each other in confusion, and then back at the Neodan.  “Yes, we’re sure,” Vegeta confirmed.  
“How strange.  Thirty-eight years,” the Neodan said to himself.  “Could you explain to me what he looks like?” He said as he looked up at the two Saiyans.  
“Like him,” Goku said with a grin as he pointed to Vegeta.  
The Neodan had a wave of realization come over him and his expression turned to shock.  “I know exactly who you’re talking about!  The Saiyan who landed here!”  He exclaimed, excited to be able to help the visitors, “but he hasn’t been here for thirty-eight years – he’s only been here for about six hours.”  
 _Six hours?_ Vegeta thought.  _There’s no way he’s only been here for six hours._  
“That’s absurd!”  Vegeta yelled.  “My father has been here for the past thirty-eight years!”  
“Your father?”  The Neodan asked, still sounding shocked.  “So then you’re a Saiyan too?”  
“Yes.  I am Vegeta.  The Prince of all Saiyans, and my father, the King, is here – on your planet!  He was just right here!”  Vegeta yelled as he stomped his foot into the ground.  
“Vegeta, calm down,” Goku said.  “Look.  We aren’t really sure of what’s going on here, so would you mind explaining it to us, please?”  Goku asked the Neodan nicely.  
“Of course,” the Neodan happily replied.  “As I said, the King is here, but he’s only been here for about six hours – at least to us.  You see, the time flow on Planet Nioria isn’t like other planets.  Take Planet Vegeta for example.  One calendar year on Planet Vegeta is only ten minutes on Planet Nioria,” the Neodan explained.  
“Hey, Vegeta,” Goku said as he leaned over towards Vegeta who was standing with his back turned and his arms crossed.  “Is the time flow on Planet Vegeta and Planet Earth the same?”  
“Yes,” he said quietly, and stone voiced.  
“I think I get it!”  Goku exclaimed as he turned back towards the young Neodan.  “Since it’s been thirty-eight years on Planet Vegeta or Planet Earth, it’s only been three-hundred and eighty minutes here!”  
“Yes, and if you turned that into hours, then it’s roughly been six hours since he got here,” the Neodan explained.  
 _So one year on Earth equals ten minutes on this planet, so that must mean that ten minutes on this planet equals one year on Earth,_ Vegeta began to think.  _Wait, so then…_ “Kakarot!”  He yelled as he made a realization, “we have to get out of here!  Now!”  
“Huh?  Why Vegeta?”  Goku replied as he looked at Vegeta with confusion.  
“Idiot!  Didn’t you hear him?  He said that one year on Earth is the same as ten minutes here,” Vegeta explained, “time flows both ways – meaning that ten minutes here is one year on Earth.  We’ve been here for the last thirty minutes.  Three years on Earth have gone by!”  
“Gah!” Goku gasped as he made the same realization.  “It’s just like the hyperbolic time chamber in reverse!  We have to get out of here!”  As Goku put his fingers on his forehead and began to search for South Kai’s energy, the Neodan stopped him.  
“Hang on a second, guys,” he calmly said.  “The Neodans are highly advanced in technology and medicine.  When we would get visitors, they would become upset when they realized the time flows, so the medical and technological Neodans came up with a pill that lets you put where you want to go and when you want to arrive there.”  Looks of relief came across Goku and Vegeta’s face.  _Thank God,_ Vegeta thought.  
“So uh, Mr. Neodan, where can we get two of these pills?”  Goku asked.  
“In the welcome center on the North side of the planet,” the Neodan answered, “but you’ll need three of them if you’re planning on taking the Saiyan King back with you.”  
“Ok,” Goku said as he turned towards Vegeta.  “Here’s the plan:  we’ll go get the pills, find your father, and then go home.”  
“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy,” the Neodan interrupted.  Both of the Saiyans looked down at him in confusion.  
“You’ll have to get the King first, hike the two-hundred miles to the welcome center, and then get the pills,” he informed them.  “The pills are made there on the spot.  A form must be filled out by each person and a blood sample has to be given in order to make the pills.”  
“Our children will be grandparents by the time we get out of here,” Goku laughed.  Vegeta shot him a glare and then he looked back down at the Neodan.  
“So,” he began, “do you know where my father is?”  
“Yes, Prince Vegeta,” he nodded.  
 _How does this kid know so much about the Saiyans?_ Vegeta wondered.  
“They took him to the hospital a few hours ago, but he seems to have woken up since then,” he told them.  
“And the hospital is where?”  Vegeta asked.  
“Right down there,” the Neodan said as he pointed down a large hill that lead into a metropolitan city.  Goku and Vegeta looked down at the city that they had somehow not seen until it was pointed out to them.  “Hey, Kakarot,” Vegeta said suddenly as he stilled looked at the large city.   
“Right!  On it!”  Goku excitedly exclaimed as he put his fingers to his forehead and began searching for the King’s energy again.  “Oh hey, I don’t think we got each other’s name,” Goku said as he looked back towards the Neodan.  “My name is Goku.”  
“Gaem,” he replied with a smile.  “My name is Gaem.”  
“Thank you for all your help, Gaem,” Goku replied.   
 _Hmm,_ Goku thought as he continued his search.  _Where are you at Vegeta?_  
“Ah ha!  I got him!”  Goku excitedly exclaimed.  “Grab hold, Vegeta!”  
 _This is it,_ Vegeta told himself.  He soon felt his heart begin racing, and sweat running down his face.  He felt his whole body begin to shake at the thought of seeing his father for the first time in over thirty years.  _No.  No time for backing out,_ he thought.  _This isn’t for me.  This is for Clara_.  He grabbed onto Goku’s shoulder and the two took off in the direction of the Saiyan King’s energy.

 

 

**"A father's tears and fears are unseen, his love is unexpressed, but his care and protection remains as a pillar of strength throughout our lives." - Ama H. Vannicarachchy**

 

As King Vegeta laid asleep due to medicine given by the Neodans, in the hospital bed that he had been laying in for what felt like the past six hours, Goku and Vegeta appeared in his room.  Behind them was a brown wooden door with a small window, to the left and right of them were shelves full of medical equipment, on the left wall was another door that led to a bathroom, and straight ahead was none other than the King of Saiyans – fast asleep in a full sized bed covered up with a dark blue blanket.   
 _Is this real?_ Vegeta wondered.  _Am I really standing at the foot of my father’s bed?  This is…too much._  
“Woah,” Goku whispered.  “Is that him?”   Vegeta didn’t say anything to Goku at first due to his uncontrollable shock and staring at his father.  
“Huh?”  Vegeta finally said.  
“I said, ‘is that him?’”  Goku repeated a little louder than before  
“Yes,” Vegeta said quietly as he nodded.  “Now, keep your voice down.  He’s not a heavy sleeper, and trust me, we don’t wanna wake him up.”  
“Should we leave, and come back when he’s awake?”  Goku asked quietly.  
“Yes.  That would be the smart thing to do,” Vegeta quietly confirmed.  As the two Saiyans went to leave, Goku, who was still watching King Vegeta sleep, turned without looking and bumped into the shelf that was on the left side of the door, and just as Vegeta had said, his father was not a heavy sleeper.  As the shelf fell and hit on the tile floor, King Vegeta sprung up in his bed and instinctually fired an energy blast towards the two Saiyans.  Vegeta moved just in time for the blast to go in between them and bust through the door and through the other side of the hospital.  
“WHAT DID I TELL YOU, KAKAROT?!”  Vegeta angrily yelled, knowing there was no point in trying to be quiet anymore  
“MY BAD, VEGETA!  IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!”  He yelled back.  
“YOU WERE AN ACCIDENT, YOU IDIOT!”  
King Vegeta, who was still sitting up in his bed, looked at the two Saiyans arguing back and forth.  _These men look familiar,_ he thought.  _Wait a second.  Could it be…?_  
“Vegeta…and…Kakarot?”  He finally said, hesitantly.  The argument between Goku and Vegeta stopped abruptly as they realized that King Vegeta was watching them.  _It’s been ages since I heard that voice,_ Vegeta thought.  _This can’t be real._ They both turned to look at the Saiyan King who was still looking at them with hard eyes.  Vegeta, who was unable to speak, just stood still and looked at his father.  _No,_ he thought.  _Those eyes.  That voice.  It’s him._ Vegeta felt his heart start racing and his hands began to shake out of anxiety.  He began to feel the blood rush out of his face, and he felt his breathing become shallow.  
            “Wow, Vegeta!”  Goku excitedly exclaimed as he walked over to King Vegeta.  _What does this moron think he’s doing?!_ Vegeta asked himself.  “You two do look alike!  Even more so in person!”  Goku said as he held his face inches away from King Vegeta.  
“Kakarot!  What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”  Vegeta yelled.  
“Huh?  Is something wrong, Vegeta?”  He asked, still looking at King Vegeta.  
“You idiot!  He’s still a King!  You have to respect the rank!”  Vegeta yelled to Goku.  
“Oh, right.  Sorry about that,” Goku apologized as he backed away from King Vegeta.  He stood straight up and held his hands tightly next to his side.  _What the hell is this guy doing?_ King Vegeta thought.  
“Sir.  My name is Son Goku, sir.  And I would like to let you know that it is your honor to meet me, sir,” Goku recited as if he was reading from a script.  “Or no.  My apologies, sir.  It is my honor to meet you.  Sir.”  
“Where do I know you from?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“Sir.  I am a Saiyan that was raised on the Planet Earth, sir,” Goku replied, still standing straight up.  
“Tell me, why does he call you Kakarot, but you call yourself Son Goku?”  King Vegeta demanded.  
“Sir.  Because sir -,” Goku began in the same manner as before.  
“Would you shut up already?”  Vegeta said, sounding annoyed.  
“Whew.  Thanks, Vegeta,” Goku replied, sounding relieved, “I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep that up for.”  
“Vegeta,” King Vegeta whispered as he looked over to his son.  
“Yes,” Vegeta said bluntly as he walked over next to Goku.  “It’s me, father.”  
 King Vegeta looked at the two grown Saiyans back and forth in shock.  “My son,” he whispered, “but…how?  I thought you were dead.”  
Goku and Vegeta looked at each other and then Vegeta begin to speak.  “You thought I was dead?”  
King Vegeta looked at his son and nodded his head.  “I was sure that Frieza had killed you,” he confessed.  “The same can be said of you,” Vegeta added.  King Vegeta held out his right hand to his son, asking for a hand shake.  Vegeta, who was standing down by his father’s legs, made Goku, who was standing by his father’s head, switch places so that he could reach for a proper hand shake.  As they switched places, Vegeta grabbed his father’s hand.  _I haven’t felt this touch in what seems like forever,_ Vegeta thought.  “You’ve grown into a strong, honorable warrior,” King Vegeta said as he shook his son’s hand.  “And you,” King Vegeta continued as he let go of his son’s hand and looked towards Goku.  
“Who me?”  He questioned, but when Vegeta glared over at him, he quickly changed his reply.  “Yes, sir.  I am me, sir,” he said as he stood up straight with his arms by his sides.  
“Okay.  I’m going to have to ask you to stop doing that,” King Vegeta said as he glared at Goku.  
“Are you positive?  Sir,” Goku said.  
“Yes, now cut it out before I blast you into a million pieces,” King Vegeta said as he held his hand up and formed an energy blast.  
“Ok!  Ok!  Fine!  I’ll stop,” Goku pleaded, “just please don’t blast me into a million pieces.”  King Vegeta took his hand down, and continued to look at Goku.  “What is your name?”  He asked Goku.  
“Well, I guess it depends on who you ask,” Goku answered.  “I call myself Goku, but Vegeta here calls me Kakarot.”  
“Kakarot…,” King Vegeta whispered to himself.  “I’ve heard that name before.”  He looked at Goku for a few more seconds before making a realization.  “That’s it!  Kakarot!  The youngest son of Bardock!”  
“You knew my father?”  Goku asked, shocked.  
“He’s the King of all Saiyans,” Vegeta butted in, “of course he knew your father.”  
“He was a fierce warrior,” King Vegeta began, “one of the only ones besides myself to stand up to Frieza.”  He paused for a moment and the room grew silent.  “So why do you call yourself ‘Goku’?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“I was sent to Earth as a baby on a mission to destroy it, but when I landed, I was found in the woods by a kind, elderly, old man named ‘Gohan’ who took me home, raised me, and gave me the name ‘Goku’.”  
“I know you were sent there,” King Vegeta confessed.  “I was the one who ordered it.”  
“What?  You were the one who wanted Planet Earth destroyed?  Why?”  Goku asked, sounding a bit angry.  “What did the people of Earth ever do to you?”  
“Vegeta.  Son.  There’s something you need to know,” King Vegeta said as he looked towards Vegeta.  “Does it have anything to do with my twin sister?”  Vegeta asked, implying that he already knew what his father was going to tell him.  
“How did you -,” King Vegeta began with a shocked look on his face.  
“Don’t worry about it right now,” Vegeta said, “right now – she needs you.”  
The shocked look on King Vegeta’s face quickly turned to worry.  “Is she okay?  What’s happened to her?”  
“There’s no time to explain here,” Goku backed Vegeta up.  “We’re here to take you to Earth.”  
“Yes.  Come on, father.  We have to get off this planet,” Vegeta insisted.  He held out his hand to his father and pulled him out of the hospital bed.  “Hang on,” King Vegeta said.  “I need to get dressed.  There’s no way I’m going out there in this.  Turn around.”  Goku and Vegeta did what King Vegeta told them to and turned their backs to him.  He looked over to the chair that was sitting next to his bed that had his Saiyan uniform folded up on it.  He quickly grabbed his clothes, took off the hospital gown that the Neodans put him in, put on his under clothing, then followed by his vest, his boots, his gloves, and finally – his cape.  The cape that distinguished him as ‘King’.  “Ok,” he said as he finished securing his cape on his left shoulder.  “Let’s go.”

 


	21. Clara Saga - Part 21

**Part 21 - Phase Four: Homecoming**

**"At the end of the day, it isn't where I came from. Maybe home is somewhere I'm going and never have been before." - Warsan Shire**

 

“Kakarot.  Vegeta.  There’s something you need to know about this planet,” King Vegeta started as the three of them ran towards the exit.  
“Yeah.  We know.  Ten minutes here equals a year on Earth or Planet Vegeta,” Vegeta explained.  
“How long have you two been here?”  He questioned.  
“About forty minutes probably,” Goku answered.  
“You do realize that you’ve been gone for four years on Earth, right?”  
“Yes, father.  We know,” Vegeta said, getting aggravated.  “Just follow our lead.”   
            Once the three Saiyans were a few feet away from the door, a Neodan with short black hair slid in front of them – stopping them immediately.  “Excuse me, but one of you blasted a hole straight through the hospital,” he accused them.  The three Saiyans looked at each other and then back at the Neodan.  
“My apologies,” King Vegeta began.  “You must understand that it wasn’t on purpose.”  
The brave Neodan stepped up to King Vegeta and stared him in the eyes.  “Do you realize that you could have hurt someone?  You’re lucky that no one was in any of those rooms.”  
“Woah, woah, woah!”  Another Neodan shouted as he came running up to the group and pulled the Neodan away.  
“What are you doing, Doctor Zod?”  The Neodan asked as he was being pulled away.  
Doctor Zod stopped in his tracks, and turned around to face the Neodan.  “Do you not know who they are?”  He asked.  The Neodan shook his head, clarifying that he didn’t know.  “Those are the Saiyans!  And that man with the cape on is the King of all Saiyans!”  He stressed.  A look of shock and terror came across the Neodan’s face, and he ran back over to the group of confused Saiyans.  “My…my apologies, sir,” he said as he bowed to King Vegeta.  “I seemed to have been unaware of who you were.”  
 _What is going on here?  They act as if they know him,_ Vegeta thought.  
“Accepted,” King Vegeta said, “now move along.”  The two Neodans bowed to King Vegeta and went on with their business.  
 _There’s something going on here,_ Vegeta continued to think as he watched the interaction between the Neodans and his father.  As the Neodans walked away, Goku pushed the door open and the three of them walked outside.  As they walked outside, the light green haired Neodans working in the garden out front, stopped what they were doing and bowed to the king.  As the three continued to walk and reached the end of the driveway leading from the hospital to the main road, Vegeta couldn’t stand the curiosity anymore.  
“Okay,” he said as he stopped in his tracks as the other two kept going.  “What the hell is going on here?”  
Goku and King Vegeta stopped and turned around to see Vegeta standing still with his arms crossed, clearly annoyed.  “Don’t you remember, son?”  King Vegeta asked as he walked towards his son.  
“Remember what?”  
“Coming here when you were a child,” his father told him.  
 _I came here as a child?  Is that why this place sounds so familiar?_ Vegeta wondered.  
“No.  I don’t,” Vegeta replied.  
King Vegeta looked down at his visibly annoyed son who was glaring up at him.  “All you need to know is that the Saiyans – well what’s left of the Saiyans, and the Neodans have an agreement.  Their services for our protection,” he explained.  
“Our protection?”  Goku butted in.  
“The Neodans don’t fight because they’re too gentle of a race, so the Saiyans would protect them whenever they were being invaded in exchange for their medical care and training the Tuffles,” he continued.  “Years ago when Vegeta was a young child, I would bring him here to fight off the invaders – keeping our deal and also training him.”  
“Oh!  I get it!”  Goku exclaimed, happily.  
“Hmph,” Vegeta grumbled.  “I must have been really young then, because I don’t remember it at all.”  
“You were,” King Vegeta admitted as he looked back to his son who was walking behind him and Goku.  “Maybe about two or three.”  
            As they continued to walk down the street, there were a few moments of silence.  “We need to find the welcome center,” King Vegeta finally said.  
“We know.  Do you know where it is?  You seem to know a lot more than we do,” Vegeta replied with an attitude.  To King Vegeta, it seemed like his son was trying to be a smart ass because of his lack of remembering Planet Nioria, but Vegeta knew that he was talking about more than just the planet’s welcome center.  King Vegeta stopped in his tracks at the sound of his son’s smart ass comment as Vegeta and Goku kept walking.  As Vegeta walked past his father, his father reached out, grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him back – slamming him into the ground.  “Still with the same disrespectful attitude!”  King Vegeta yelled as he picked his son up by the hair.  The altercation attracted the attention of everyone walking down the street and Goku.  “You’re a grown ass man!  It’s time you start acting like it!  I won’t tolerate your disrespect towards me!”  He yelled again as he dropped Vegeta face down on the concrete.  As he looked at his son face down, he noticed that Vegeta’s Saiyan tail was gone.  “What happened to your tail?!”  He asked, angrily as he picked his son back up by the hair, and held him in the air.  As Vegeta was being pulled back up, he ignored his father’s question.  _Who the hell does he think he is?_ He asked himself.  _Utterly humiliating me in front of everyone – me, a Super Saiyan Two._   “Answer me!”  King Vegeta yelled at his son as he began to pull Vegeta higher and closer to his face.   
 _Man.  His attitude changed fast,_ Goku thought as he watched Vegeta and his father.   
“It got cut off,” Vegeta finally confessed.  
“Cut off?!  By who?!”  
“Well, years ago when Vegeta came to Earth -,” Goku began before being cut off by King Vegeta.  “I’m talking to my son.  Not you.  Sit back and shut up!”  He yelled at Goku.  
 _Really, Vegeta?  Why’d you have to go and piss him off?_ Goku wondered.  
“When I went to Earth to find Kakarot, it got cut off in our battle,” Vegeta began to explain.  “I’m not the only one without one.  Neither Kakarot, Clara, or any of our children have them.”  
 _Children?  My son is a father?_ King Vegeta asked himself.  A few seconds later, he seemed to have calmed down almost completely.  He let go of his son’s hair and lowered him down onto his feet.  
“Who is Clara?”  He kept interrogating his son.  
“My twin sister,” Vegeta told him.  _Should I also mention that she’s the one that he decided to keep a secret?_ He thought.  
 _Clara.  That’s what I would have named her as well,_ King Vegeta thought.  
“And what about your children?”  King Vegeta asked before Vegeta could get another smart ass remark out.  
“I have one son.  His name is Trunks, and he’s nine.  Kakarot has two sons.  The oldest is named Gohan – he’s eighteen, and his youngest, Goten, is eight,” Vegeta explained.  
“And they’re full Saiyans?”  
Vegeta looked away from his father before answering.  “No,” he said quietly.  “Half Saiyan, half human.  Our wives are Earthlings.  There are no remaining full blooded female Saiyans besides Clara.”  
“Half-breeds?!”  King Vegeta said, sounding shocked and angry.  “What good are half-breeds?!”  
“They, along with the two of us, are Super Saiyans,” Vegeta told his father.  
“Super Saiyans?”  He quietly questioned as he looked at Goku and Vegeta.  
“Well, Trunks and Goten are regular Super Saiyans, Gohan is a mystic,” Goku added.  
“How many full blooded males are there left?”  
“Four,” Vegeta answered.  “You, Tarble, Kakarot, and myself.”  
 _So my other son is still alive.  That’s good to hear,_ the king thought.  
King Vegeta shot a glare over to Goku.  “So why haven’t you mated with her?”  He asked.  
 _Is he serious?!  Kakarot and Clara…mating?!  Having…kids?!_ Vegeta asked himself with a look of shock as he imagined their hypothetical offspring.  
“What?”  Goku asked as his face turned red as if he was making sure he heard the king right.  
“My daughter,” he began to clarify.  “She’s the last full blooded Saiyan female, and you’re the only full blooded Saiyan male that isn’t family.  Why haven’t you mated with her?”  
 _I guess I did hear him right,_ Goku told himself.  
“Um…well…you see, sir…it’s kinda…I’m married,” Goku told Vegeta’s father.  
“And?”  He asked as if he didn’t understand what the problem was.  
“And I don’t think my wife would appreciate it if I got another woman pregnant,” he chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.  
King Vegeta turned completely around to face Goku.  “So you’re telling me that you’re married to an Earthling woman who would have an issue with you helping to repopulate the Saiyan race by creating a new full blooded Saiyan?”  
“Uh…Uh huh,” Goku nodded nervously.  
King Vegeta began walking in the direction that they were headed in, and scoffed.  “Earthlings are strange,” he said as he shook his head.  “Come on.  The welcome center is this way,” he said as he took off towards the sky.  Goku and Vegeta took off after him and Vegeta caught up to and flew right next to his father, and Goku stayed behind the two of them.   
            “Here we are,” King Vegeta pointed out as they approached the welcome center.  The three of them descended, landed on the ground, and walked towards the front door.  
“Oh my!  Hello, King Vegeta!  How are you feeling?”  The Neodan sitting behind the desk asked cheerfully.  
“Much better now,” he replied.  “I need three Nova pills.”  
“Sure thing!”  The Neodan replied.  He got up from the desk and walked over to a cabinet.  
“How long do these things take to make?”  Goku asked King Vegeta.  
“A few seconds,” he replied.  
“Here we go,” the Neodan said as he carried all the required things to the desk.  “I just need each of you to fill one of these out and then prick your finger on this needle.  Make sure there’s enough blood on it, or else it won’t work.”  He handed the papers over to the three Saiyans along with some pens.  The questions on the papers included: Name, age, planet to travel to, time on planet to travel to, quadrant, and address of final location.   
“Hey, guys,” Goku whispered over to Vegeta and his father as they began filling out their papers.  
“What do you want, Kakarot?”  Vegeta asked.  
“I don’t think I can do this needle thing.  I have a problem with needles,” he explained while standing blue in the face.  Both Vegeta and his father put down their pens, looked at each other, and then looked over at Goku with unimpressed expressions.  “If you don’t man up and prick your damn finger I’ll come over there and do it for you!”  Vegeta shouted.  “And trust me, I don’t think you want that.”  
“Fine!  I’ll do it!”  Goku replied.  “Hey, Vegeta?”  Goku said again.  
“What is it now?”  Vegeta replied, sounding annoyed.  
“What time are we supposed to put?”  He asked.  
“Well, we know we left on Thursday, September 20th at around three P.M, so just put Thursday, September 20th at three-fifteen P.M,” he said as if it were an obvious answer.  
“Okay.  And what about the address.  Where are we going?”  He asked again.  
“We might as well go to Capsule Corp since that’s where Clara is – saves us a lot of trouble,” Vegeta said, clearly getting more annoyed.  
“Quadrant?”  King Vegeta asked as if he and Goku were playing twenty questions with Vegeta.  
“North,” Vegeta said, sounding even more aggravated.  “I swear to God, if either one of you asks me which planet, I’ll bunch you in the dick.”  However, Vegeta’s threatening sentence was soon met by a nonchalant left elbow to the stomach from King Vegeta as he continued to write with his right hand.  
 _Dammit,_ he thought as he held his stomach in pain.  _You think I would’ve learned by now._  
 _You think he would’ve learned by now,_ King Vegeta thought with a smirk on his face.  
All three of them filled out the same information exactly the same except for their names and ages.  When they were done, Vegeta’s father looked over at his son’s form as if his parental instincts were telling him to check to make sure his son had filled out everything correctly, and found himself shocked by what his age was.  “Forty-three?!”  King Vegeta exclaimed.  Vegeta looked down at his paper as if he were making sure he wrote it correctly.  “Yes,” he replied.  He looked over to his father’s and saw that his age was only thirty-two.  “Well, what do ya know?”  Vegeta said with a smirk on his face.  “The son is older than the father.”  
“Wait, what?”  Goku said in curiosity.  “You’re older than your dad?”  
“Only by eleven years,” Vegeta chuckled as he pricked his finger with the needle.  Goku looked at King Vegeta’s paper and was shocked to see his age.  “Man,” he said sounding disappointed.  “I’m still the youngest.”  
“Huh?  I thought you were only five years younger than Vegeta?”  The king asked, sounding confused.  “Shouldn’t you be thirty-eight?”  
“Yeah, about that,” Goku chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.  “It’s a lot to explain.  I’ll tell you about it later.”  
“That’s not even the weirdest age thing,” Vegeta said as he turned in his paper and his bloody needle.  “Clara is somehow twenty years younger than I am.”  
 _Twenty-years?  She should be hundreds of years older than him if anything,_ King Vegeta thought.  “Yeah, about that, son.  I have-,” he began.  
“No,” Vegeta interrupted him, “save it for Clara.”   
After a few minutes of silence.  The three Saiyans handed the bloody needles and the papers to the Neodan, and he took them and went into the back room.   
“So, only a few seconds, huh?”  Goku asked as the three of them still stood at the counter.  
“Mhmm,” King Vegeta replied.  
“So.  Are you nervous?”  Goku asked the king.  
“About what?”  He counter-questioned even though he knew exactly what Goku was talking about.  
“About meeting Clara?”  Goku asked.  
King Vegeta let out a slight chuckle.  “Kakarot, there are a lot of things that I need to come clean about to her as well as the two of you, and if she’s anything like me or Vegeta, I know she won’t take them well.”  
 _What could he be hiding that’s making him so nervous?_ Vegeta wondered.  
“Well, Clara is a smart, beautiful, friendly, and strong woman,” Goku told him.  “I’m sure that whatever you tell her, she’ll be able to forgive it.”  
“I sure hope you’re right,” King Vegeta replied quietly as the Neodan came out from the back room.  “Alright.  Here you go!”  He exclaimed as he handed each Saiyan their pill.  
“Oh I remember these,” Vegeta said as he looked at the pale blue pill in his hand.  “Kakarot, make sure you hold your nose.”  But it was too late, and Goku had already put the pill in his mouth and began to disappear while having a twisted face.  “Well.  You did warn him,” King Vegeta said to Vegeta as they both watch Goku vanish.  “Well, here goes nothing.”  
Vegeta and his father held their nose as they put the pill in their mouth and swallowed.  Within a few seconds, they too began to disappear.


	22. Clara Saga - Part 22

**Part 22 - Mistakes**

**"We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here now with the power to shape your day and your future." - Steve Maraboli**

 

As the three appeared on Earth, in front of Capsule Corp, King Vegeta was taken back by the sight of the gigantic house.  “Who’s house is this?”  He asked.  
“My wife’s family,” Vegeta answered as he began walking up to the door.  “My wife, son, and I live here.”  
Behind him, King Vegeta and Goku walked up to the door as well.  As they grew closer to the automatic door, it opened up and they all walked inside.  
“Well, son,” King Vegeta began as they all stood in the entryway, “it seems you married well.  Too bad she isn’t a Saiyan.”  
“Hmph,” he replied.  As they walked into the living room, Vegeta noticed that all the lights are on.  “Someone must be here,” Goku pointed out.  
“Yes, I see that,” Vegeta said sarcastically as he walked through the living room and into the dining room.  “Where is your sister?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“I left her upstairs sleeping, but she may have woken up and gotten something to eat,” Vegeta replied.  As they got closer to the dining room, Vegeta heard another familiar voice on the phone.  _Bulma,_ he thought.  He looked back towards Goku and his father and pulled them off to the side.  “Father, stay out of sight until I tell you to come in.  And Kakarot…do whatever,” he told them, and they nodded their heads in agreement.  King Vegeta stood next to his son and stood up against the wall beside the door frame, and Goku of course made a beeline to the kitchen on the other side of the house for the refrigerator.  Even though it would have been quicker to go straight through the dining room, he saw Bulma was on the phone, and knew she’d get made if he disturbed her conversation, so he went back through the living room, turned left down the hallway, and then left again into the kitchen.  _Great.  Now I have to act as if there’s no one in the room.  Dammit Kakarot.  You couldn’t have waited?_ Vegeta asked himself.  He knocked on the wooden door frame and startled his wife.  “Thank you so much.  I had a great time, but hey, I have to go,” she said before hanging up her phone.  “Vegeta!”  She yelled as she stood up out of her chair and turned around to face her husband.  “Don’t scare me like that!”  
“Sorry.  I didn’t mean to,” he replied.  
“It’s fine.  You’re lucky I love you,” she told him.  
“Yeah.  Hey, have you seen Clara?”  He asked, changing the subject.  
“Huh?  No, I haven’t,” she replied, even though she knew Clara wasn’t in the house.  
“Hmm.  Hey, what’re those papers?”  Vegeta asked as he saw the papers on the table behind his wife.  _Dammit,_ Bulma thought.  _He would notice those.  Luckily the last names are covered up.  Come on Bulma – think of something._ “Uh…those are…well, you see, Vegeta…I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” she finally said after a few awkward seconds of silence.  “What?”  He asked.  
“Well, you see…those are names that I’ve been coming up with for our new baby,” she told him.  “OUR WHAT?!”  Vegeta yelled.  
“YOUR WHAT?!”  King Vegeta and Goku yelled at the same time as King Vegeta popped around the corner and Goku popped out of the kitchen.  
            “Great, Vegeta!  Goku’s here hiding in the kitchen?!”  She yelled furiously.  “And…this guy is here?”  She questioned as she looked at her father-in-law, sounding confused.  
Seeming to ignore her questions, Vegeta was still in shock that he and Bulma were having another kid.  “Are you sure?”  He asked.  
“What do you mean ‘are you sure?’?!” She yelled at him.  
 _She’s seriously doing this now in front of my father and Kakarot?_ He thought.  He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and put his hands on his forehead.  “Bulma, we haven’t had sex in over a month,” he reminded her.  
“Yes, Vegeta.  I’m aware.  I’m more than a month,” she informed him.  “I’m three months.  It happened right after Majin Buu was defeated.”  
 _Damn.  I remember that night,_ Vegeta thought.  _I knew I had a bad feeling about it, but still, we used protection._  
“Fuck,” he said to himself.  “If you’re three months along, why did you wait so long to tell me?”  
“I didn’t know until a couple of days ago,” she confessed.  “I didn’t realize that I had missed three periods.”  
“How could you not realize that?”  Goku butted in as he held his food in his hands.  “Chi Chi nearly kills me every time she gets hers, and she always feels tired and cranky.  Plus, I hear there’s a lot of blood.”  
“Goku, stay out of it!  This is between me and my husband!”  She turned around and yelled at him, scaring him enough to go back into the kitchen.  “I don’t understand the big deal, Vegeta.  You said yourself that you were ready to have another,” she reminded him as she turned back towards him.  “I know what I said, Bulma, but I didn’t mean right now at the worst possible time,” he told her.  
“Well, what’s done is done,” she said as she walked over to him.  “I love you, Vegeta,” she said proudly as she wrapped her arms around him.  He, of course, didn’t return the ‘I love you’ or the hug, but just stood there still in shock.  “Thank you,” she said as she moved herself away from him.  “I think I’m getting a headache,” he said as he dropped his head and covered his face with his palms.  
            “So who’s this guy?”  She questioned as she walked up to King Vegeta.  
“I’m King Vegeta, Vegeta’s father, and your father-in-law,” he bluntly said.  Shock and confusion came across Bulma’s face as she looked at Vegeta and his father.  “K-K-King Vegeta?”  She finally managed to utter.  
“That’s correct,” he confirmed.  
“I thought you were supposed to be dead?”  She asked, sounding suspicious as she looked at his body.  “The sky hasn’t gone dark, so I know that they couldn’t have wished you back to life.  Even so, Shenron wouldn’t have been able to grant it.  You’ve been dead for like thirty years.”  
“Bulma.  Just accept that he’s my father, he’s here, and the way we got him is more confusing than I have time to tell you about,” Vegeta finally spoke.  
“Fine,” she agreed.  “Whatever you say.  It’s not like this is the first time one of Vegeta’s family members came out of nowhere.”  
“Yes.  Speaking of which.  Do you happen to know where my daughter is?”  King Vegeta asked Bulma.  
“Like I told, Vegeta, I haven’t seen her,” she retorted.  “And I have a few errands to run,” Bulma said as she grabbed a set of car keys from the dining room table.  “I’ll see you tonight.”  
“I’ll go check her room,” Vegeta said as he watched Bulma walk through the living room.  “Father, make yourself at home.”  
            As the Saiyan King turned back towards the living room, he walked over to the couch and sat down in the center of it.  _This is all so surreal,_ he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back.  _To them, I’ve been gone for years, but to me, it’s been merely hours.  Last time I saw my son, he was a five-year-old boy, and now – now he’s a forty-three-year-old man with a family of his own._  
“Hey,” Goku said as he walked into the living room with a sandwich in his left hand, “would you like something to eat?”  
“No, thank you,” he said as he stayed leaning back.  
“Wow.  That’s weird,” Goku pointed out.  
“What is?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“Well, it’s just that it’s weird to hear someone who looks and sounds like Vegeta say ‘no, thank you’,” Goku explained.  
“Really?  How so?”  The king asked him, looking confused as he sat up.  
“Well, Vegeta’s always been kinda-,” Goku began before being interrupted.  
“Disrespectful?  Arrogant?  Rude?”  King Vegeta finished his sentence for him.  “I know kid.  You’re preaching to the choir.”  
“You said it, not me,” Goku chuckled and took a bite of his sandwich.  King Vegeta moved over to one side of the couch, and motioned for Goku to sit.  “It’s how he’s always been,” King Vegeta started as Goku sat down.  “Even though I was only in his life for the first five years, I know he’s always been that way.”  
“Vegeta made it seem like that’s how Saiyans acted,” Goku confessed.  
“That’s not how Saiyans acted,” King Vegeta chuckled, “that’s how the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta acts.”  The king’s bold statement grabbed Goku’s attention, and he sat next to him and waited for him to continue.  “It’s true that the Saiyans were a proud, strong, warrior race – I won’t deny that for a second.  It’s also true that the Saiyans took over and conquered planets, and killed many innocent people along the way, but you can’t believe everything you hear from a Saiyan who was handed the title of ‘Prince’.”  
“So then why does he act like he does?”  Goku asked, curiously.  
King Vegeta let out a sigh.  “I’m almost certain that it’s because of me,” he admitted.  
“Huh?”  Goku questioned as he raised an eyebrow.  
“My son has always thought the Saiyans were a ruthless, cold-hearted, prideful race – which was true during my reign, but they weren’t always like that.  Vegeta believes that each individual Saiyan should take pride in themselves for their individual strengths, which isn’t true.  The pride that Saiyans possess is the pride of their strength together as a race.  Pride in their race’s strength and pride in their families.  Does everybody have their own amount of pride for their own strength?  Yes, absolutely – it’s something that is natural, but it shouldn’t overshadow the pride in the race as a whole.  He believes that each Saiyan should try to be the strongest one, but in fact, Saiyans should become stronger as a race.”  
“Yeah, I can see that,” Goku chuckled.  “He’s had a rivalry with me since I first beat him.”  
“Really?”  King Vegeta looked at Goku, shocked, “you beat him?”  
“Yes, sir,” Goku chuckled as he had a big grin come across his face and rubbed the back of his head.  “He came to Earth with this other Saiyan and they were after these things called ‘Dragon Balls’ that can grant you any wish.  Vegeta wanted to wish for immortality.  He and his friend killed most of my friends, and then once Vegeta killed the other Saiyan that was with him – he tried to kill me.  He transformed into a giant ape, but his tail ended up getting cut off by one of my friends, so he went back to normal, and I let him go.”  
“Who was the other Saiyan that was with him?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“Hmmm.  I don’t really remember his name,” Goku confessed as he scratched his head.  “I remember he was really tall, bald, and had a mustache.”  
“Nappa?”  The king assumed.  
“Yeah!  That’s it!  Nappa,” Goku confirmed.  
“Why did Vegeta kill him?”  He asked Goku.  
“Well, there’s this guy, Piccolo, and the Dragon Balls only work if he’s alive, and when Vegeta found out that Nappa had killed him, he killed Nappa,” Goku explained.  “Then once Vegeta left, we all went to Namek, the planet where Piccolo is from, in order to use their Dragon Balls to wish everyone back to life.”  
“Ah.  Namek.  I’ve heard of it,” King Vegeta nodded.  
“Mhmm.  Then when we got to Namek, we found out that Vegeta had beaten us there to steal the Dragon Balls, and then after him, Frieza was there.”  
“Frieza?!”  King Vegeta exclaimed.  “What happened to him?!”  The king became anxious and started to worry a little.  
“Don’t worry,” Goku assured him, “I killed him.”  
“Huh?  You killed Frieza?”  The King asked as if he were making sure what he had heard was correct.  “Well.  I thought I did.  Once I got back to Earth, I found out that he had come back and he and his father had beaten me here, but they were both killed by Vegeta’s son from the future, but that’s a whole different story,” Goku chuckled.  
“Hmm.  You’ll have to tell me one day,” the king replied.  “But that’s what I’m talking about.  It doesn’t make sense for him to have a rivalry with someone of his own race.  It’s childish.  I’m willing to bet that if the two of you worked together, no one could stop you.”  
“I try to work with him, but he takes a lot of pride in fighting on his own, but in this last battle, we worked together some, and we won.  Without him, I’m pretty sure I would have died,” Goku admitted.  King Vegeta nodded his head in reply.  “When Frieza knocked me unconscious, I had stormed his ship in order to try to get Vegeta back whom Frieza had taken.  It didn’t occur to me to go in there alone.  I went in there with an army behind me – an army that backed out once we got to Frieza, but ultimately, the life of my son was more important to me than my own life, so I stormed Frieza on my own, and you know the rest from there.”  
            King Vegeta looked down at his hands and saw that he had balled them in tight, shaking fists.  “But like I said, there’s a lot that I need to come clean about.  I’m going to sit down with Vegeta, Clara, and you and explain everything.”  
“Clara’s not here!”  Vegeta yelled in a worried tone as he came storming down the stairs.  “WHAT?!”  Goku and King Vegeta yelled as they stood up from the couch.  “Where the hell could she be?!”  The worried father yelled.  
“I…I don’t know,” Vegeta replied.  “I searched everywhere.  I left her upstairs.  She was passed out.”  
“Just calm down,” Goku said, trying to calm the two of them down.  
“Calm down?!”  Vegeta yelled at Goku.  “My sister is missing on a planet that she’s unfamiliar with, and you want me to calm down?!”  
“She couldn’t have gotten that far,” King Vegeta insisted, trying to calm Vegeta and himself down.  
“Kakarot, use your instant transmission and take us to her,” Vegeta demanded.  Without question or hesitation, Goku put his fingers on his forehead and began to search for Clara’s energy.   
“Hmmm,” he said as he took his fingers off his forehead.  “I can’t sense her energy.”  
“What?!”  Vegeta and his father exclaimed.  Goku’s face dropped from optimism to a look of fear.  “Vegeta, if I can’t sense her energy, it most likely means that she’s-,” he started before being cut off by King Vegeta.  “No.  Don’t you dare even say it.”  Goku felt the anger in the king’s voice, and instantly shut up.  “Just think,” King Vegeta continued.  “Where would she have gone?”  The three Saiyans stood in a circle and each tried to figure out where she would have gone.  All three of them became increasingly worried as each minute went by.  After all, she was a young Saiyan with no memories on a strange planet.  _Come on, Clara,_ Vegeta thought.  _Where the hell could you be?_ Without mentioning it to the others, Vegeta felt the breath get knocked out of him.  Suddenly, realization hit him like a freight train.  
            “I know where she went,” he said quickly as he headed for the door.  
“Really?  Where?”  Goku asked, curiously.  
“The crash site.  Father, come with me.  Kakarot, stay here in case she comes back.  If she comes back, come find us,” Vegeta ordered.  King Vegeta quickly ran up to his son who was already walking through the automatic door.  “The crash site?”  He asked as he caught up.  
“Yes,” Vegeta confirmed.  “Just follow me.”  The two of them went to the sky and headed towards the crash site where Clara had landed.  _It’s freezing out here,_ King Vegeta thought.  _Hopefully she’s someplace warm._   A few minutes later, they arrived above the crash site.  “Who’s crash site is this?”  King Vegeta asked as they landed.  Sounding annoyed, Vegeta told him a short version of what happened.  “Clara crashed here, was kidnapped by some psycho doctor, had her memories taken, was tortured, and I ended up saving her.”  Vegeta’s bluntness caught his father off guard.  
 _Tortured?  My little girl was tortured?  This son of a bitch better hopes he never crosses paths with me,_ King Vegeta thought as the anger in him swelled.  “What happened to the despicable doctor?  Tell me you killed him,” King Vegeta asked, clearly angry.  
“No,” Vegeta said.  “He killed himself in front of me, so that I wouldn’t kill him.”  
 _Not the way I would have wanted it, but at least he’s dead,_ the king thought.  
“And what about her memories?”  He asked.  
“They drugged her with something that gave her selective amnesia.  She doesn’t remember her real name, her past, or why she came here.”  Before King Vegeta could ask any more questions, Vegeta had begun taking the tarp off of the large, circular ship.  The king went to the other side to help speed up the process.  After they had it completely taken off, they saw only one way in – the front windshield – the same way Clara had gotten in.  As they rushed through the front of the ship, they were met with nothing more than cold air and an empty ship.  
            “I thought you said she was here?”  King Vegeta asked Vegeta angrily.  
“I thought she would be!  This is the only place she would go!”  He defended himself.  
“And how can you be sure of that?!”  The king countered.  
“Kakarot and I had to basically fight her to get her away from here the other night,” he admitted.  The worried father didn’t say anything, but instead, he decided to look around the ship – followed by Vegeta.  “It’s freezing in here,” King Vegeta said quietly.  “I’m sort of glad she’s not here.”  As the brother and father of the missing Saiyan worked their way to the back of the ship, they found themselves examining the torn apart ship.  “It’s a miracle she survived this,” Vegeta said as he accidently tore a piece of metal off the wall.  
“This would have killed anyone else,” King Vegeta added as he looked around.  Then, as they got closer to the back, the Saiyan King noticed a yellow and white backpack lying on the floor.  King Vegeta directed his son’s attention to it.  “That bag there,” he pointed out.  “It’s the only thing in here not burned to a crisp.”  As they walked up to it, they picked it up and noticed that it had been emptied.  “Whatever was in it obviously had some meaning to her.  Otherwise, she wouldn’t have a fireproof bag,” Vegeta said as he looked at the tag that read “fireproof”.  After Vegeta and his father searched the backpack and found nothing, Vegeta turned around to his left, and noticed some scattered item on the floor.  “Father,” he said as he pointed at the items.  King Vegeta dropped the backpack, and headed over to the scattered items.  They both knelt down on their knees and looked through them.  Among them were a torn up red piece of fabric, two onyx kunai knives, a test tube filled with ashes, six small hoop earrings, and a necklace with a skull and crossbones on it.  As they were rummaging through the items, King Vegeta quickly grabbed for the red fabric and he instantly felt his heart ache as he looked at it.  _This is what I wrapped her in,_ he thought to himself as he fought back tears.  He held the red fabric close to his chest with his left hand, and with his right hand, he continued to look through the scattered items with his son.  _What is this?_ Vegeta thought as he picked up the tube of ashes.  _It looks like…no…it can’t be._  
“I don’t think there’s anything here that’ll help us find her,” Vegeta said as he gently put the tube down, sounding defeated as he looked over to his right at his father.  “What is that?”  He asked when he saw how his father was holding the red fabric.  “Huh?”  The King replied, clearly forgetting what he was holding to his chest.  “The fabric you’re holding.  What is it?”  Vegeta asked again.  King Vegeta took the fabric off of his chest, and held it out in front of him with two hands, much like holding a baby.  “It’s what I wrapped her in,” he said quietly.   
“What?”  Vegeta asked, sounding confused.  
“It’s her cape.  It’s what I wrapped her in when I sent her away when you two were newborns,” King Vegeta clarified, still fighting back tears.  
“When you sent her away?!”  Vegeta asked, sounding angry.  
“Trust me, son.  I wouldn’t have if I had a choice,” the anguished father replied.  
“Where the hell did you send her to?!  Tell me!”  Vegeta demanded.  
“It’s not that simple to explain,” King Vegeta defended himself.  “I don’t have time to give you the details right now.  We need to find her.”  
Vegeta scoffed.  _Sent her away?  How the hell could he send her away?  How could a father – a Saiyan father – get rid of his own child?_ Vegeta thought.  
            As they had almost given up on finding anything useful to help find the missing Saiyan, King Vegeta noticed a piece of paper tacked up on the wall right in front of them.  “What’s this?”  King Vegeta he asked as he stood up and walked over to it, cape still in hand.   
“I don’t know.  Why don’t you just get rid of it since you don’t know what it is?”  Vegeta replied in a smart ass tone.  “You seem to be good at getting rid of things.”  King Vegeta shot a glare over to his son.  “Don’t start,” he said sternly.  
“You can threaten me all you want, but if you want a fight, I can promise you that I’m a lot stronger than you are,” Vegeta threatened.  “I’m not the one who gave his own child away – his own flesh and blood,” he reminded his father.  “I don’t normally think of myself as father of the year, but compared to you – I’m father of the century.”  
“You don’t need to remind me what I did,” The king replied as he gripped the small cape tighter.  “Do you really think that I haven’t been living with the pain of getting rid of my only daughter ever since I sent her away?”  
Vegeta scoffed.  “She’s been living with it longer.”  
            Deciding not to argue with his son, the Saiyan King turned back around and walked up to the paper.  “What does it say?”  Vegeta asked as he stood back.  As King Vegeta read the handwritten note, tears of anger began to fill his eyes as he looked at the back of it.  “What is it?”  Vegeta asked again after getting no response from his father whose body began shaking out of anger.  “Let me see that,” Vegeta said, sounding annoyed as he walked up to his father.  As he went to grab it from his father’s hand, his father jerked it away.  “What the hell?”  He said.  “Let me see it.”   
“We need to leave,” King Vegeta finally said as he dropped the note and started to walk out of the ship.  As soon as the note hit the ground, Vegeta bent down to grab it.  As he picked it up and started reading it the front and back of it, tears of anger and hatred began to fill his eyes as well – even more so than his father when he realized who the note was written by.  The sadistic note left hanging on the wall read:  
“Dear Vegeta,  
            Tisk, tisk, tisk.  Truly sad, isn’t it?  What kind of brother would let his little twin sister go out alone, on a foreign planet, in the freezing cold?  But don’t worry, we will make sure she’s nice and warm up until her body is drained of all its blood.  It’s a shame isn’t it?  She’s such a beautiful, young woman.  Perhaps, if she were human, we’d make her carry our children, but this is what you and your kind deserve.  Take a look at the back of this letter, and decide what kind of brother you’re going to be.”  
            Taped to the back of the note was a picture – an even more sadistic picture than the note.  The picture depicted the beautiful, young, twin sister of Vegeta completely nude, unconscious, and hung up by her wrists with chains around them.  Her perfect body was covered in cuts, blood, bruises, and burn marks.  Her dangled feet appeared to be broken, and a pool of blood was on the dark, marble floor beneath her.  Underneath the picture read another disturbing sentence.  “Hurry now.  Clock’s ticking.  
Sincerely,  
Dr. Uling and Dr. Sosa”


	23. Clara Saga - Part 23

**Part 23 - Energy**

**"We are all connected; to each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe, atomically." - Neil deGrasse Tyson**

 

As the anger in both Vegeta and his father swelled to the boiling point, Vegeta immediately took off in the direction where he found Clara the first time.  _I don’t understand,_ Vegeta thought.  _He shot himself in the head right in front of me.  I made sure he was dead._ King Vegeta, who was following his hate-filled son, promised himself to make good on his threat from earlier.  _I will make sure this son-of-a-bitch pays.  No matter what.  I WILL get my daughter – even if it means blowing up this miserable planet._ As the anger in Vegeta rose, he uncontrollably transformed into his Super Saiyan Two.   
“How much further?!”  King Vegeta yelled from behind his son.  However, Vegeta ignored his father’s question and kept on flying.  As they passed the empty office building that SAS had used for a front, Vegeta remembered the dark and empty room that he and Goku spent what felt like forever in.  He led them past the building and down the road a few more miles.   
“Here!”  Vegeta yelled as he landed in front of the building that he walked out of after giving Clara over to Goku.  As King Vegeta landed, his son was already busting down the supposedly invincible metal door.  As the door crashed down, it created a large hole into the marble floor, and what stood in front of Vegeta were the hallways that had been altered before.  As Vegeta began to step over the fallen door and enter the hallway, he noticed a change in the atmosphere and unwillingly transformed out of his Super Saiyan form.   
“Come on, father!”  He yelled as King Vegeta landed.  As the Saiyan King entered the hallway, he too noticed the change.  
            “What’s going on here?”  King Vegeta asked his son.  “Why aren’t we flying?”  
“Dr. Uling is what’s going on,” Vegeta said angrily as he began running through the hallway.  “He can alter certain parts of the world if they’re linked to him.”  
“Linked to him?”  King Vegeta asked, sounding suspicious.  
“He has a network in him called “Sapphire”.  Anything that’s in a physical place that is connected to the Sapphire network can be physically altered by him,” Vegeta explained.  “For instance, this building.  Last time I was here, he moved the hallways around to keep me from finding him, and now, he’s somehow altered the energy that we use when we power up, fly, or use energy blasts.  That’s why we can’t fly.”  
No sooner than Vegeta got the last sentence out of his mouth, the infamous intercom that had been used for communication between Dr. Uling and Vegeta before came to life.  
“You’re wrong, Vegeta,” Dr. Uling chuckled over the intercom as Vegeta and King Vegeta continued to run through the seemingly normal hallways.  “I’m not altering the energy, I’m destroying it.”  
“Destroying it?!”  King Vegeta yelled back before being silenced by his son.  
“Don’t respond to him.  You’re only giving him what he wants,” Vegeta explained.  
“And this must be daddy-dearest,” Dr. Uling laughed.  “I can see the similarities between the three of you.  Tell me, what kind of father let’s his little girl go out alone, on an unfamiliar planet, in the freezing cold?”  
King Vegeta balled his fists, and resisted the urge to respond back.  As King Vegeta and his son kept running through the hallways, they saw the invincible metal doors that Vegeta had knocked down previously, and on the other side of the fallen doors, was the room where he found Clara.  From what they could see, her blood was still on the floor, the chains that held her arms up were still hanging from the ceiling, and the shackles that held her feet to the floor were still on the back wall; however, the only thing missing was Clara herself.  
“Is that…?”  King Vegeta began.  
“Yes,” Vegeta replied quickly as they both stopped and stared at the room.  
            As Vegeta stared into the room, he felt a cold wave go over his body – giving him goosebumps all over.  He remembered what seeing his sister, who was just an unknown girl at the time, hanging there – almost lifeless.  _I can’t see her like that again,_ he thought as a tear formed in his right eye.  The longer he looked at the room, the angrier he became, and the more personal killing Dr. Uling and Dr. Sosa became.   
“Come on.  Let’s go,” Vegeta said through his gritted teeth.  The father and son duo walked slowly to the open room, and finally reached it after what felt like an hour.  
 _This is my little girl’s blood,_ King Vegeta thought as he bent down to touch the dry blood.  
“How can anyone be this evil?”  King Vegeta asked as he looked around the room that his daughter was tortured in.  “Even the Saiyans gave quick deaths.”  
“Yes,” Dr. Uling said over the intercom.  “I would know.  The Saiyan who caused my death is standing there to your left.”  
“You shot yourself!”  King Vegeta yelled back.  “My son didn’t make you do it!”  
“Oh, no.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m talking about the time before that,” Dr. Uling responded as he appeared out of thin air in front of the two Saiyans.  “Don’t you remember, Vegeta?”  He said as he walked up to Vegeta and stood inches away from his face.  
“And you should have stayed dead,” Vegeta angrily replied.  
“Huh.  But weren’t you the one who brought me back?”  Dr. Uling said as he paced back and forth with his arms behind his back.  
“I didn’t bring you back.  I brought the planet back,” Vegeta retorted as his eyes followed the twisted doctor.  “How did you even come back this time?  No one survives a point blank shot to the head.”  
Dr. Uling let out a chuckle.  “Haven’t you met Doctor Sosa?”  He asked.  “Genius is what that man is.”  
 _Wait a second,_ Vegeta thought.  “Let me guess – the DNA genius altered your DNA,” Vegeta said, sounding unimpressed and annoyed.  
“Ding!  Ding!  Ding!  We have a winner!”  Dr. Uling yelled.  “Doctor Sosa’s entire office is run by Sapphire, also known as me, so when I “died”, his whole network went down – all of his cameras, his computers – everything.”  
“Vegeta, what the hell is this guy?”  King Vegeta whispered over to his son as the crazy doctor was bragging about how he was brought back.  
“Glad you asked!”  Dr. Uling yelled as he spun around, snapped his fingers, and pointed at the Saiyan father.  “Allow me to explain.  My name is Isaac Uling.  I was born on Planet Earth on June 14th, 1972.  However, last May, I was violently murdered by your no good Saiyan son.  Later, I was brought back to life, along with the rest of the Earth.  Come to find out, the only reason that we were brought back was to help the Saiyans defeat Majin Buu.  After the defeat of Majin Buu, I felt like a hero – I felt important.  But then, six months later, they erased all of my memories of my heroic deed.  Do you know what it’s like to be a hero and not remember it?  For the first time, I felt special.  I felt like I did something good.  Then, as luck would have it, after I got done having dinner with my colleagues, I was kidnapped and experimented on.  Due to a botched up experiment, all my memories came flooding back.  I remembered being killed by your despicable excuse of a child.  I remembered helping defeat Majin Buu, and I remembered the dragon in the sky that took away my memories.”  
“So what is all this “Sapphire Network” bullshit that you keep on babbling on about?”  King Vegeta demandingly asked.  
“Oh,” Dr. Uling chuckled, “That.  Tell me Saiyans, what do people rely on more than anything nowadays?”  
Both Vegeta and King Vegeta stayed silent as they glared through the arrogant doctor.  
“No answer?  Alright, fine.  Electronics, you idiots!”  He yelled with a laugh.  “People _need_ their internet.  People _need_ their electricity.  People _need_ their cameras.  People _need_ their cell phones.  What do people do if any of those things go out?  That’s right!  They forget what to do with themselves!  Think of the Sapphire Network as one big bundle that powers the internet, electricity, cameras, cell phones, etcetera.  I am the Sapphire Network.  Anything electronic that is powered through the Sapphire Network, is controlled by and can be altered by none other than me.”  
“Wha…how did you even do that?  You’re just a doctor,” Vegeta questioned, dumbfounded.  
“That’s where you’re wrong, Vegeta,” Dr. Uling countered with his arrogant grin.  “I may be a doctor, but I never said what kind, now did I?  Now, as I was explaining, the Sapphire Network is inside me.  I am inside the Sapphire Network – we are one.  Understand now?”  
“No,” King Vegeta said bluntly.  “How are you able to destroy the energy that causes our power ups and energy blasts?  And what about the hallways with Vegeta?”  
“Clock’s ticking, dad,” Dr. Uling said as he looked at the watch on his left wrist.  “Are you sure you want your little girl to suffer more than she has to?”  
“Answer the question,” Vegeta demanded.  
“Fine,” Dr. Uling sighed as he placed his hands back behind his back.  “If you insist.  As I said, I can alter and control electricity – it doesn’t matter which kind – even electricity in energy. When you form one of your little energy blasts or power ups in a room full of electricity, you’re subconsciously using the energy from the electricity that’s present.  For instance, see that light hanging above you?  It’s giving off energy – electrical energy, so when you attempt one of your little power ups or energy blasts, you do so by using the energy that naturally surrounds us as well as the energy that the electricity gives off.  Even though the light above you only gives off a small percentage of energy that you use, it’s still mixed into the total amount of energy that you gather.  Naturally, the body gathers the least amount needed. However, if I alter the electricity and destroy the energy coming off of that light as you gather it, you are completely powerless because your body cannot receive the least amount of energy that it needs.”  
 _Destroy energy?_ Vegeta skeptically thought.  
“The hallways were much easier,” Dr. Uling began, sounding almost relieved.  “The hallways are lined with intercoms, and the electricity that powers the intercoms is run through the walls.  I have it set up to where the electricity that powers the intercoms through the walls creates an electric charge on the inside of the walls, and as I’ve stated – I can change and alter electricity, so if I have an electric charge running through a four-foot-long wall, the electric charge is four-feet-long, but if I want to move that charge to an eight-foot-long wall, the wall has to accommodate for the charge’s size.”  
“What’s the point in all this?”  King Vegeta questioned.  
“Because.  When I helped defeat Majin Buu, I felt important, and when I found out that I had that memory of feeling important taken from me, it killed me inside.  Then it hit me.  If I was in complete control of everything that everyone thought was important, and I died, they’d lose what they value most.  Just like I did.  My feeling of heroism, the most important thing to me, was taken from me by the no good Saiyans.  If they can play God, then so can I.”  
“Bullshit,” Vegeta boldly said.  
“What?”  Dr. Uling replied, sounding confused.  
“I said, ‘bullshit’,” Vegeta retorted.  
“What’s bullshit?”  Dr. Uling asked, sounding offended.  
“Why, you are,” Vegeta said as a smirk came across his face.  “You’re not Isaac Uling.  You’re nothing but a lifelike hologram who happens to have the same abilities as your host’s body.”  
“And how do you figure that?”  The accused hologram questioned.  
“The Isaac Uling I know is too cocky and arrogant to take his eyes off his experiment,” Vegeta pointed out.  “You would have never left my sister just to come here and gloat.  Which can only mean one thing.”  
“Clara’s nowhere here,” King Vegeta butted in.  
Standing across from the Saiyans, the hologram slowly clapped his hands.  “Very good, Saiyan scum.  Bravo, bravo,” he said, antagonizing the Saiyan duo.  
“Where is my daughter?  Tell me now!”  King Vegeta demanded as he began to move towards the clone.  
“Hmph.  Even more cowardly than usual, huh Isaac?  You sent a hologram so that we couldn’t harm your physical body,” Vegeta chuckled, resulting in the clone opening his arms and beginning to laugh.  
“Father,” Vegeta said as he walked up towards his father who was a few steps ahead of him. “Power up as much as you can – hold nothing back – use your anger.”  
“But, Vegeta,” the Saiyan King began as he looked over to his son, “you heard what he said.”  
“Did you not hear what I said?  Power up as much as you can, NOW!”  Vegeta demanded.  
“You really are an idiot, Vegeta,” The hologram began to laugh.  “Did you not hear what I said?  I will destroy the electrical energy before he can even gather it!”  
“Father.  Do it…please,” Vegeta pleaded quietly.   
 _I really hope you’re going somewhere with this, son,_ the Saiyan father thought.  After his son’s final request, he began to power up as much as he could, but as expected, there was no physical change or change in strength or power.  For the most part, it just looked like a man screaming in the center of the room; however, they could feel the anger radiating off of him.  A pissed off father is what he was.  
“You are a fool!”  Vegeta yelled over his father at the Dr. Uling clone.  “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m married to one of the most intelligent women on the face of this planet!  I know all about how holograms work – whatever you’re doing and saying is a mirror repeat of what the real Dr. Uling is doing and saying!”  
“What’s your point, Saiyan?!”  The hologram yelled back.  
“If you are “destroying” energy, then he has to be “destroying” energy.  However, you would have to be an idiot to believe that energy can be destroyed.  It can only be transferred or become something else!  So, instead of “destroying” the energy that we need to power up before we gather it, it’s more likely that you’re transferring the energy as we gather it, which you’re able to do because we just so happen to be gathering electrical energy, which can only mean one thing – Clara’s trying to gather her energy as well, and little Isaac Uling is afraid!  Because holograms are mirrored, it can only mean that if your transferring it to your right, then the real Isaac is transferring it to his left, or however you want to spin it – either way, the energy transferred from Clara will clash with the energy transferred from here, but the real question is: how much energy do you have to transfer in order to get them to clash?  Let’s find out!”  
“WAIT!  NO!”  The hologram yelled as Vegeta began to power up alongside his father.  Knowing that the real Isaac Uling, who was with Clara, was too afraid to quit transferring her energy, the hologram couldn’t help but to mirror the action.  After a few seconds of extreme power ups, Vegeta’s plan came full circle, the energies from both places clashed, broke the link between the hologram and the real Doctor Uling – effectively getting rid of the fake, and Vegeta and his father knew that if it had worked on their side, then it had worked on Clara’s.  As the link severed and the hologram was destroyed, there was nothing transferring their energy anymore – allowing the two Saiyans to power up effectively.  
            _This power,_ King Vegeta thought as he looked down to the palms of his hands.  _Is this it?_ He looked up at his son whose hair glowed blond and went down his back and stopped at the back of his knees.  
“Well,” Vegeta said with a smirk, “it seems we both surpassed our previous limitations.”  As he turned around to look at his father, he saw his newly transformed Super Saiyan father standing there in awe.  Eventually, the look of surprise and shock left the Saiyan King’s face, and a look of determination came across it.  
“Let’s go,” King Vegeta said as he fired an energy blast through the roof of the building.  Without a word, Vegeta followed his father through the hole in the ceiling and came out in the open world.  “Where could she be?”  The king asked.  Vegeta closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, and began to search for Clara’s energy.  After a few seconds, his search turned up positive, but frightening results.  
“There,” he said as he looked towards the mountains.  “She’s over there, but there’s a new threat.”  
King Vegeta shot Vegeta a look that confirmed his suspicions about his father knowing about the transformation.   
“You know about it don’t you?”  Vegeta questioned.  
“All too well,” the king replied, quietly.  “I had a feeling this would happen if we stopped their ability to transfer the energy.”  
“Well, come on.  We’d better hurry before she blows up the planet,” Vegeta said nonchalantly as he took off in the direction of Clara’s energy – followed by his father.


	24. Clara Saga - Part 24

**Part 24 - Gurki**

**"When we think of the past, it's the beautiful things we pick out. We want to believe it was all like that."**

 

Vegeta and his father took off as fast as they could towards the mountains – following Clara’s energy.  After going over numerous mountain ranges, they finally pinpointed the exact location of the missing Saiyan.  
“I think she’s down there,” Vegeta said as he and his father floated above a valley filled with trees.  As they floated above, looking for where Clara might be, they felt the Earth tremble as a loud roar was let out.  
“I think we found her,” King Vegeta added as the trembling stopped.  The Saiyan father started to head down to the ground to look for his daughter, but before he could make it too far, he was cut off by the sight of his daughter standing below them.  
“What is that?”  Vegeta asked as he floated down next to his father and looked at his twin sister.   
“I thought you saw her transform?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“I did,” Vegeta confirmed.  “But it wasn’t into _that._ ”  
            Down below the two Saiyans stood none other than Clara; however, the transformation  
that Vegeta had seen previously wasn’t the same one that was staring at them from below.  Down  
below, Clara stood with her jet black hair in the same lion mane type style as the other  
transformation; however, the differences between the two transformations were enough to send shivers  
down Vegeta’s spine.  Instead of her demon-like jet black eyes like before, the whites of her  
eyes were now pitch black, the irises were glowing red, and her pupils were black in the shape of cat eyes.  On her right cheek was a large bloody cut, most likely from the fresh torture that had been inflicted on her.  Her teeth were once again razor sharp, and her aura glowed black instead of red.  And lastly, sprouted from her back through her black hoodie that she had been wearing were demon-like wings that were black and had a red outline on them.  
 _So we meet at last,_ King Vegeta thought as he looked down to see his transformed daughter.  After a few seconds of silence, he began to fly down to meet up with her, but was soon stopped in mid-flight.  “What are you doing?”  He asked as Vegeta floated in front of him – blocking his way.  
“You know what she is,” he began as he crossed his arms and glared at his father.  “What is she?”  
“Now really isn’t the time, Vegeta,” he replied, sounding impatient.  He tried to maneuver around his son, but no matter where he went, his son was always a step ahead of him.  
“Tell me,” The prince commanded.  
“You are in no position to bark orders at me,” the Saiyan King started.  “You’re a prince, not a king.  Don’t forget your place.”  
“I’m also twice as strong as you,” Vegeta countered.  “As I told you earlier, you can threaten me all you want, but if you want a fight, I promise you’ll lose.  Now, tell me what she is.”  
A few seconds of silence went by as Vegeta and his father stood in a standoff – both Saiyans glaring at each other.  
“Aim for the back, right in between the shoulder blades, and stay away from the wings,” King Vegeta told his son.  After telling Vegeta what to do, he noticed that the prince had dropped his guard and was finally able to maneuver around him and make his way to the ground – followed by his son who landed behind him.  
            As the demon-looking Clara stood across from them, glaring at them with her black and red eyes, a smirk came across her face.   
“Vegeta, please don’t kill her,” King Vegeta whispered.  Vegeta looked at his father and then back at his sister.  
“Don’t worry,” he assured the king.  “Last time she transformed, I was able to calm her down when I made eye contact with her,” Vegeta told his father.  
“That won’t work this time,” The Saiyan King replied.  
“Huh?”  Vegeta asked, taken back.  “Why not?”  
“Tell me, were her eyes a solid color last time?” His father questioned.  
“Yes,” Vegeta confirmed.  “They were solid black.”  
“If her eyes are a solid color, then she is able to be controlled by a family member who has the same color normal eyes.  You have black eyes, and her eyes became solid black.  That’s why you were able to control her,” the king told his son.  
“So what controls this form?”  Vegeta asked, sounding suspicious.  
“Nothing,” the king replied.  “You have to hit the center of her shoulder blades and it will turn her back to normal.  Just watch out for the wings.”  
“What’s so special about the wings,” Vegeta demanded to know  
“The tips are poisonous,” King Vegeta said bluntly.  “If she stabs you with them, you’ll die slowly and painfully, and your body will be obliterated into ash.”  
“Hmph.  Well, the wings should be easy to avoid if all I’m aiming for is in between her shoulder blades,” Vegeta said with a smirk.  
“Don’t get too cocky, Vegeta.  If you aren’t fast enough, she could close her wings together like a Venus Fly Trap and get you with them,” his father warned.  “Vegeta, please be careful.  I don’t want to have to watch either of my children die in front of me.  You’re a father just like I am, and one of your children is still growing inside your wife.”  
 _Trunks.  Bulma.  Unborn son or daughter.  I WILL come home to you, and I’ll bring my sister back with me._ Vegeta told himself.  
“I’ll be careful,” Vegeta finally said, quietly after a few seconds of silence.   
            As the two Saiyans finished their conversation, the demon-looking Clara stood across from them with her arms crossed and began to laugh maniacally.   
“So cute,” she said with a grin on her face.  The voice sounded like Clara’s, but both Vegeta and his father knew that it wasn’t her.  
“Where’s my daughter?”  King Vegeta demanded to know.  
“Oh.  You mean Clara?”  She replied, putting quotations around the name that Vegeta had given her.  
“Yes,” Vegeta said through his gritted teeth.  
“Hmm.  Well, if I had to guess, I’d say that she’s probably on her way to hell,” she replied.  
“What are you talking about?”  King Vegeta asked, sounding angrier than before.  
“Well, it would appear that daddy and big brother are nothing but failures,” she said with another laugh.  “Do you really think this precious little girl could have survived _this?_ ”  
As she asked the suspenseful question, she lifted up the hoodie that had once been new.  Underneath, she revealed wounds that made both Saiyans gag.  All the way from the top of her breasts down to the top of her pants was a stab wound that appeared to have gutted her, and there appeared to be gashes between each one of her ribs.  Vegeta and his father couldn’t help but to look at the wounds that had been inflicted upon the young Saiyan’s body.  
“Why…what…what did she ever do to you?”  King Vegeta finally asked, as he gasped for his breath.  
“Nothing at all,” she replied with a smile.  “Her body was merely my home from the time she was born.  That is why you got rid of her right?”  She asked with a chuckle.  “You see; I remember everything about this girl.  I know why she came here, I know what she is, I know her better than either of you do.”  
“And what the hell are _you?_ ” Vegeta finally said through his teeth.  
“Tell him, Vegeta,” she chuckled as she looked at the Saiyan King.  Vegeta looked towards his father and watched him stare at the being inside of Clara.   
“Well?”  Vegeta said impatiently as he looked at his father.  
“Her name is Gurki,” he began to quietly explain without looking at his son and still looking at Clara’s body.  “She was one of the very first Saiyans to have ever existed.  She went into a long coma after a battle, and eventually died.  Soon after, she showed herself in the body of a newborn girl, and as the girl grew up, she would cause chaos and destruction until the time she died.  Many years went on, and each time the female Saiyan that she was sharing a body with died, she would move on to another new born girl and so on.  Eventually, she made it to my grandmother.  She made my grandmother cause terror on the then Planet Plant, until eventually, the Tuffles killed her and a war broke out.  At the time, I felt it was necessary to do whatever it took to keep Gurki at bay – even if it meant wiping out the Tuffles and taking control of the planet, so I did.  When I claimed my throne, I ordered for any newborn girls to be executed on the spot since Gurki can only possess newborn girls and leaves their bodies when they die, and as luck would have it, two years after claiming my throne, you and your sister were born thirteen minutes apart.  At that time, Frieza, as you know, controlled a lot of Planet Vegeta, and feared that one of the new born royals would defeat him eventually, so he forced me get rid of one of you – with the threat of blowing up the planet.”  
“And you got rid of Clara,” Vegeta finished his explanation for his father.  
“Yes,” the king said quietly, still looking away.  “I couldn’t fathom killing my own daughter, so I did the next worse thing – I sent her away.”  
“You didn’t like the idea of killing your own daughter, but you made other Saiyans kill theirs,” Gurki reminded him.  “You singlehandedly doomed the Saiyan race to extinction.”  
“Why do you think I had Kakarot sent to Earth?”  King Vegeta said quietly.  “I was told that his father, Bardock, had seen visions of him growing up to be a good warrior and defeating Frieza.  Moments before Frieza destroyed our planet, I took a leap of faith and had Kakarot sent to Earth – hoping that those visions would come to pass, and to my surprise – they did.  When Frieza took Vegeta, I tried to get him back so that I could send him with Kakarot, but I failed.  Ultimately, because of my actions, the Saiyan race is still alive and stronger than ever.  The blood of the Saiyans course through the veins of four full bloods and four half-breeds.  Although I must admit that I wasn’t too thrilled about half-breeds at first, I have come to realize that they too are also Saiyans.”  
“You mean three,” Gurki countered.  “Your little girl is gone.”  
“No.  Four,” the Saiyan King insisted. “You may have taken her body, but Saiyan blood still runs through it.”  
Without saying a word to his father, Vegeta turned his attention to the early Saiyan inhabiting Clara’s body.  
“So why haven’t you left?”  He asked, angrily.  “Clearly she’s dead.”  
“Why would I leave such a powerful body?”  Gurki asked as she examined her arms.  “I only left the dead bodies of the female Saiyans to move on to a stronger and younger one.  And aren’t you forgetting?  She’s the last remaining female Saiyan.  Where would I go?”  
 _Damn this demon,_ King Vegeta thought as he began to form an energy blast in his balled up, shaking fist.  
“Yes.  Go ahead.  Fire that blast at your dead little girl’s body,” Gurki provoked.  
“NO FATHER!”  Vegeta yelled.  
“She’s already dead!  What does it matter?!”  He yelled back, as he increased his power.  
“If you blast her body with that, it could obliterate her body!  We can bring her back, but not if she doesn’t have a body to return to!”  He yelled at his father.  
“Oh can you?”  Gurki replied with a sadistic grin.  “You’ll have to get past me first.”  
“Don’t worry,” Vegeta said.  “I plan on it.”  
“What’s your plan?”  King Vegeta quietly asked his son.  
“Just follow my lead,” he replied as he began to walk towards his possessed sister’s body.   
As he walked about halfway from where he was standing to his sister, he balled his right fist up, and with his new found Super Saiyan Three strength, he charged forward and connected a right hook with her left cheek.  Seconds later, the Saiyan King charged and the three became engaged in an all-out battle.  
            “So why now?!”  Vegeta yelled as he and his father continued to battle Gurki.  “Why are you coming out now?!  Why didn’t you show yourself when Clara was first tortured?!   
“Silly prince,” Gurki chuckled.  “Isn’t it obvious?  I wanted them to kill her, so that I would be able to have her body and all its power to myself, but then you had to come and ruin everything.”  
“So what?!  You planned all of this?!”  King Vegeta yelled.  
“Of course not,” Gurki said with a smirk.  “The crazy doctors just happened to be unknowingly helpful.”  
“So then why did you show yourself to me?!”  Vegeta demanded to know.  
“ _That_ wasn’t all me,” Gerki confessed.  “Once upon a time, when Clara remembered who she actually was, she was able to control me when she needed my power – just like Chini was.”  
“Who?”  Vegeta asked.  
“My grandmother,” King Vegeta replied quietly.  
            After roughly ten minutes of nonstop midair battle, the three landed back down on the ground, and the father and son Saiyan duo began to think up new strategies after they realized that they had inflicted almost no damage to the ancient Saiyan.  
“If only we could fire energy blasts at her,” King Vegeta said to his son who was standing to his right.  
“Hey, guys!”  A familiar voice yelled from what seemed like the sky.  Although it sounded like it had come from the sky, King Vegeta and Vegeta weren’t aware of what had unfolded in the past few hours.  
“Huh?”  King Vegeta said as he looked around.  “Where did that come from?  That sounded like -,”  
“Kakarot, what the hell are you doing?!” Vegeta yelled back.  
“ _I’m with King Kai!_ ”  Goku replied through thought.  “ _He’s made it so the four of us can communicate telepathically with each other, so there’s no need to yell_.”  
“ _Who the hell is King Kai?”_   King Vegeta replied.  
“Ahem,” King Kai cleared his throat.  “ _I believe I may be able to shed some more light on Gurki,_ ” he explained.  
“ _So what are you waiting for then_?”  Vegeta replied, sounding annoyed.  
“ _Jeez Vegeta, just hang on a second,_ ” Goku said, sounding a little offended _._  
 _“We don’t have a second, Kakarot,_ ” King Vegeta replied, sounding almost as annoyed.  “ _She could charge at us at any moment.  Tell me what you know.  That’s an order._ ”  
“Ha ha,” Gurki laughed.  “Are you two talking to yourselves?  Whispering a little prayer before you die?”  
 _How the hell are we going to beat this bitch?_ King Vegeta thought.  
“Hey, guys.  I’m here,” Goku announced as she showed up behind the Saiyan King and prince.  
“Kakarot!  What the hell are you-,” Vegeta started before being cut off by Goku communicating with him telepathically.  
“ _No, Vegeta.  Through telepathy,_ ” Goku told him.  
“ _What the hell are you up to?_ ”  Vegeta asked.  
“ _Hey, King Kai.  Are you still there?_ ”  Goku said, ignoring Vegeta’s question.  
 _He looks so confident,_ Vegeta thought as he saw Goku smirking at the possessed Clara.   
“ _Yes, Goku,_ ” King Kai replied.  “ _I’m still here._ ”  
“ _And how about you_?”  Goku asked as if he were talking to another person.  
“ _Yes,_ ” the voice replied.  As he heard the voice reply, Vegeta’s breath was knocked out of him and he found himself almost gasping for air.  
“ _C-C-Clara?_ ”  Vegeta asked, sounding completely shocked and almost breathless.  
“ _Yes.  It’s me,_ ” she confirmed.  As King Vegeta realized that he was hearing the voice of his real daughter, he felt his heart sink to his feet.  
“ _But…how?_ ” King Vegeta asked.  
“ _Father,_ ” she said in almost a whisper.  “ _It doesn’t matter.  I’ve been watching you and Vegeta fight this for me, and I need to tell you: don’t hold anything back.  That’s not my body._ ”  
“ _What are you talking about?!  That is your body!  Your clothes and everything!_ ”  Vegeta yelled.  
“ _No, Vegeta!  It’s not!_ ” She yelled back.  “ _Just trust me!  I couldn’t be with King Kai if I didn’t have a body!_ ”  
“ _So then how-,”_ Vegeta began before being cut off by Clara.  
“ _Goku saved me,_ ” she answered with a smile that no one could see.  “ _Sort of,_ ”  
“ _Sort of?_ ”  King Vegeta questioned as he looked back at Goku.  
“ _When he found me, I was suffering – my body looked like the one you see there, so when he brought me to King Kai’s planet, I was alive – barely, but I was in so much pain that he couldn’t let me stay alive like that, and I was probably going to die slowly and painfully, so I had him quickly kill me,_ ” Clara explained.  
After hearing Clara explain what happened, King Vegeta gave Goku a look of approval and thanks.  
“ _So then how the hell does this thing look exactly like you?!_ ”  Vegeta demanded to know.  
“ _If you would shut up for five minutes, Vegeta, I could explain it to you!_ ”  King Kai yelled back.  
A few seconds of silence between the group stood for the go-ahead for King Kai to begin explaining.  
“ _Listen carefully,_ ” King Kai began.  “ _The being that is standing in front of you is named Gurki – the first female Saiyan.  When Gurki died, her spirit separated from her body, but you already knew that.  However, what you don’t know is that I’ve discovered that she’s what they called a Flozoru.”_  
“ _What the hell is a Flozoru?!_ ”  Vegeta asked in a demanding voice.  Seconds later, he was answered by the other four simultaneously telling him to shut up.  
“ _A Flozoru, as I was getting to, is a special type of demon that can only exist in one species.  When the first person of a species who is considered immoral – like Gurki, dies, their spirit becomes a Flozoru.  As a Flozoru, they are capable of inhabiting the bodies of newborns who are the same species and gender as they are and are free to take over the host’s body whenever they please if the host doesn’t have good control over them; however, sometimes, the host can use the Flozoru’s power – I believe that’s what happened when Clara transformed when she was with Vegeta.  Other times, the Flozoru can completely take over and show their true selves – like what you’re seeing right now.  Each time a Flozoru inhabits a body, they also adopt the power and abilities that the host develops until the time of their death.  When the host dies, the Flozoru is cast out and is then able to take on the form of any of the previous hosts, but they can only look like the selected host did when they died, and they are able to either look exactly like the host, or they can choose to show their demonic form – that’s why she looks like she does.  She wanted you to believe that she was a possessed Clara because that’s how Clara would’ve looked if Gurki had taken complete control.  They are also able to utilize any skills and abilities that they picked up from any host, and they must remain on the planet where the host died._ ”  
“ _But Clara died on your planet didn’t she?_ ”  King Vegeta questioned.  
“ _Yes,_ ” King Kai confirmed.  “ _That’s the only thing I can’t understand.  Why is she there on Earth and not up here?_ ”  
“You idiots!”  Gurki laughed.  “You must not have done all your homework.  If you had, you’d know that I can expel myself at any time.  I don’t have to wait until the host dies.  The only downfall is that I can’t return to her body even if she is revived.  When I thought Clara was going to die, I decided to leave her body because she had no more power left to give me, but then that fool came and took her elsewhere.”  
“How did you know what we were talking about?!”  King Vegeta yelled.  
“Oh, king,” she said with a sadistic smirk.  “You seriously underestimate my intelligence.”  
“ _Don’t hold anything back!_ ”  Clara pleaded to the three Saiyans fighting for her.  “ _I know it may look like me, but it’s not!_   _Please!  I’m begging you!  Win this for me!_ ”  
“Good luck!”  Gurki yelled.  “I am my own being as of right now, remember?  Hitting me in between the shoulder blades won’t do anything, for there is no one else in this body – only me,” she laughed with a grin.  
            In response to Clara’s pleads, the Saiyan father, brother, and friend turned their undivided attention to the Flozoru that was menacingly standing in front of them, and had the look of anger, pain, and determination flaming in their eyes.  As the three of them stood there, they each formed their own energy blasts in their hands.  As Vegeta finished forming a Big Bang Attack, he charged forward along with King Vegeta, who had formed a normal energy blast, and Goku, who had formed a single-handed Kamehameha.  As Vegeta’s attack met the Flozoru, he was shocked when he realized that she was vanishing.  
“You’d better hope that little Saiyan fetus isn’t a girl,” she whispered in Vegeta’s ear with a sadistic smirk before disappearing completely.


	25. Clara Saga - Part 25

**Part 25 - Choices**

**"In the end, that was the choice you made, and it doesn't matter how hard it was to make.  It matters that you did." - Cassandra Clare**

 

“What…the hell…was that?”  King Vegeta asked after he saw Gurki disappear completely into thin air.  Without saying a word, Vegeta let go of his attack, transformed out of his newly achieved Super Saiyan Three and stood with his back to Goku and his father.  _My child,_ he thought as his anger filled up in him.  _That demon threatened my child._  
“Where is Doctor Uling and Doctor Sosa?”  Vegeta finally asked with anger in his voice.  
“Dead,” Goku replied bluntly.  
“Dead?  Did you kill them?”  King Vegeta asked as he turned around to face Goku.  
“No, I found them like that,” he said quietly.  “I’m guessing either Clara or Gurki killed them.”  
“Where are their bodies?”  Vegeta asked quietly, still keeping his back to the other two Saiyans.  
“A few miles away from here in a shed where they held Clara,” Goku replied as he pointed behind him.  “I found Clara inside on the ground and immediately took her to King Kai’s planet, but Gurki had apparently already separated from her body and came here.”  
“Clara killed them,” Vegeta stated.  
“How can you be sure?”  Goku asked as he and King Vegeta looked at Vegeta’s back.  
“Gurki wanted them to kill her,” he said as he began to turn back around.  “There would have been no point in killing them.”  
“Take me to her,” King Vegeta commanded Goku.  
“What?”  Goku asked as if he wasn’t sure of what he had heard.  
“I don’t like to repeat myself,” he said, sounding a bit angrier.  “Take me to my daughter.  Now.”  
“Okay, okay,” Goku finally agreed.  “Grab hold,” he said as he held out his hand to the Saiyan King, and unlike Vegeta, he grabbed Goku’s extended hand.  
“Are you coming?”  King Vegeta asked his son who began to walk past them.  
“No,” he said quietly.  “I have some things to take care of.”  
Without argument, Goku and King Vegeta vanished and within a matter of seconds they appeared on King Kai’s small planet.  There, they were greeted by King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory.  
“Hey, Goku,” King Kai said as the two Saiyans appeared on the planet.  “What are you doing here?”  
“He told me to bring him here to see Clara,” Goku answered as he pointed to King Vegeta.  
“Oh!  King Vegeta!”  King Kai exclaimed as he welcomed the Saiyan King.  “Please, forgive my rudeness!”  
“Where is my daughter?”  He demanded to know.  A few seconds after getting his question out, and before King Kai could answer it, Clara walked out of the small house of King Kai’s.   
“Father?”  She said quietly as she walked up to the two Saiyans.  Unable to speak, King Vegeta stood there and saw his young daughter stand before him wearing her casual clothes – a black hoodie and jeans with black tennis shoes.  Her long black hair was well past her shoulders, and even though there was a halo above her head, she somehow had a smile across her face.  
_It seems as though they had the decency to redress her after taking that horrendous picture,_ King Vegeta thought.  
“My daughter,” King Vegeta said quietly as he looked her big onyx eyes.  Without saying a word, Clara looked over to Goku and noticed that her brother was nowhere in sight.  
“Where’s Vegeta?”  She asked, sounding curious and a little worried.  
“He stayed behind,” Goku answered.  “He said he had some things to take care of.”  
“So, uh, what’s the visit for?”  King Kai timidly butted in.  
King Vegeta, who was still looking at his deceased daughter standing in front of him, shot King Kai a look of annoyance.  “I need to speak to my daughter,” he finally said.  
“Sure, dad.  Let’s go over there,” Clara said as she walked up to him with a smile and pointed to the tree behind King Kai’s house.  Without reply, the two Saiyans walked over to the tree and once they got to it, Clara sat down on the ground and leaned up against the tree – followed by her father who sat down on her left side.  As he sat down, he let out a loud sigh and looked straight ahead into the yellow sky that surrounded them.  
“What did you wanna talk about?”  Clara asked as she looked over to her father who was still looking straight ahead.   
“I wanted to apologize to you,” he said as she slowly turned his head towards her.   
“Apologize?  For what?”  She chuckled.  “You didn’t do anything.”  
“That’s want I want to apologize for,” he said quietly.  He reached into his vest where he had put the small folded up red cape.  “This is yours,” he said as he handed it to her.  
“You found this in my ship,” she said quietly with a small smile as she looked down at it.  
“Yes.  When Vegeta and I went looking for you,” he informed her as he looked down at the top her head.  
“I have no idea what it is,” she said softly as she held it in her hands and as tears began to form in her eyes.  “It must have been important to me at one time.”  
“It was,” he confirmed.  “And at one time, it was important to our entire race.”  
Without saying a word, Clara looked up to her father with her eyes almost filled with tears and a look of confusion on her face.  “It’s your cape,” he said quietly to her.  “Like the one I wear except smaller and red.  You and Vegeta had matching red capes to show that you were part of the royal family.”  
“Then why do I have it?”  She asked almost on the verge of tears.  A few seconds of silence went by as King Vegeta hesitated to tell his daughter the truth of what happened all those years ago.  “Father.  Why do I have it?”  She said again, sounding more demanding.   
“It’s what I sent you away in as a newborn,” he finally admitted.  As the words came out of his mouth, he felt as though there was a lump in the back of this throat trying to keep them in.  To Clara, a feeling of relief as well as anguish engulfed her body.  
“What you…sent me away in?”  She asked quietly as a tear fell out of her left eye.  
“Yes,” he confirmed to his visibly upset daughter as she held the little red cape tighter.  “As I said, I wanted to apologize.”  
“You said you wanted to apologize for doing nothing,” she said as he turned her head to the right – away from her father.  “Sounds like you did plenty,” she scoffed.  
“If I had done plenty, you wouldn’t be here right now,” he began to defend himself.  “You wouldn’t have crashed here, you wouldn’t have lost your memories, and you wouldn’t have been tortured twice and then killed by a fellow Saiyan.  And overall, the Saiyan race might still be alive.”  
“Why’d you do it?”  She asked as she looked back towards her father with anger in her eyes – ignoring her father’s defense.  
“I didn’t have a choice,” he confessed to her.  
“Didn’t have a choice?!”  She yelled in disbelief as she stood up.  “How can you sit there and say that you didn’t have a choice?!”  
“Clara, sit back down and listen to me,” he said in a calm tone – attempting to calm her down.  
“No.  You don’t get to call me that,” she said angrily.  “You know who didn’t have a choice?!  Me!  I didn’t _choose_ to be sent away from my family as an innocent baby.  I didn’t _choose_ to have my memories taken away from me.  I didn’t _choose_ to be kidnapped and tortured TWICE.  I didn’t _choose_ to share my body with some evil dead Saiyan’s spirit.  As far as I’m concerned, the only _choice_ I’ve made since I got here was the choice to have Goku put me out of my misery – the misery that _you_ caused me!”  
“Would you just sit back down so I can explain everything to you?”  King Vegeta asked.  However, this time, his calm tone diminished and his voice became more rough.  
“There is _nothing_ you could say to make me forgive you,” she said, still sounding upset.  
“I’m not asking for your forgiveness,” he tried to convince her.  “I’m asking you to just listen to me.  You don’t have to forgive me now or ever.  If you don’t like what I have to say, then you can walk away and Kakarot and I will leave.”  
Taking her up on her father’s deal, Clara stood in her spot with her red cape in her left hand as she folded her arms, and nodded her head – giving King Vegeta the go ahead.  
            “As you know, Gurki was the very first female Saiyan, as well as the first evil one.  When she died she gained the ability to possess newborn Saiyan girls, absorb their power that they gained until the moment of their death, and then move on to the next one.  When you and your brother were born, our planet – Planet Vegeta – was under control by a tyrant named Frieza.  Frieza feared that one of the new born royals would kill him eventually, so he ordered your mother and me to get rid of one of you with the threat of blowing up our planet.  Since I knew about Gurki and her ability to possess newborn Saiyan girls, I made the choice to send you away in order to try to keep her away from you and to save our planet.  So she wouldn’t be able to find you on another planet, I had you sent back to the year 1882 on Planet Earth – which was before Gurki died on Planet Vegeta.  Obviously, my efforts were for nothing because in the end, Gurki must have gotten into you before I sent you away, Frieza ended up blowing up our planet, and only a handful of Saiyans survived.”  
“You could have fought for me,” Clara said quietly as she leaned up against the tree, still standing up and looking at the small red cape in her hand.   
“I know I could have, and I should have,” King Vegeta quietly admitted.  “That why I said I wanted to apologize for doing nothing.  I didn’t even try to keep you there until it was too late.  I just assumed that keeping Vegeta would save our race.  For the next five years, until Frieza blew up our planet, anger and hate filled my heart making me an even colder and more cynical man than I already was.”  
“It sounds like you’re trying to make yourself sound like the victim,” Clara scoffed.  “But I get it,” she continued after a few seconds of silence.  “I get the feeling of having to protect your child from harm.”  
“You do?”  King Vegeta asked, sounding suspicious.  
“Yeah,” she nodded as she sat back down next to her father.  “I’m not sure how, but I do.  I get it,” she said with a small smile as she looked up to her father who was looking back down at her.  “But that’s old news now.  Now there’s a bigger threat out there.  If only I could get my memories back, I might know some things that might help.”  
“Hey!  Don’t worry!”  A voice from above the two Saiyans said excitedly.  “King Kai told me that you should regain your memories once we wish you back!”  
“Goku!  How much have you heard?!”  Clara exclaimed as she quickly sat up and looked at Goku who was sitting on top of King Kai’s house.  
“Don’t worry!”  He assured her.  “I just heard that last little bit!”  
Clara looked down at the small red cape still in her hand.  “Here,” she said to her father.  “Hold on to this.”  
“No,” he refused.  “It’s yours.  You keep it.”  
Doing as her father said, she took the cape, folded it up, and put it in the back left pocket of her jeans.  “You really think I can get my memories back?”  She asked Goku as he jumped down to stand in front of the father and daughter duo.  
“Yeah, why not?”  He said positively.  “Shenron should be able to restore them no problem!”  
“Shenron?”  King Vegeta asked suspiciously.  
“It’s the dragon that grants any three wishes every year,” Clara leaned over to explain to him.  
“Yeah, but since we already used one wish a few months ago, we only have two left,” Goku chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.  “We can use one to bring Clara back, and then the other to restore her memories!”  
“Awesome,” she said with a smile as she looked at Goku.  
“How long does will it take to use this dragon?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“A few days at the most,” Goku explained.  “And now that I think about it, I think that’s where Vegeta might have gone.”  
“Hm?”  King Vegeta grunted with a look of confusion.  
“Bulma has a radar that finds the dragon balls and makes it quicker to find them,” Goku continued.  “He probably went to get it from her to go find the dragon balls.  We should have you and your memories back in no time!”  
“That’s great,” Clara said quietly with a forced half-smile.  
“Hey, what’s wrong?”  Goku asked her, sounding concerned.  
“It’s nothing,” she tried to convince him as she shrugged her shoulders, but ultimately, her lying skills proved to be inferior to both Goku and King Vegeta’s lie detector skills.  
“No, what is it?”  King Vegeta pressed her.  
“I’m just not too thrilled about being here with someone I don’t know,” she began to explain to her father.  “The only people I know are you, Goku, Vegeta, and I guess, Bulma.”  
“You’ll be just fine here!  Besides, the more of us there are on Earth, the faster we can have a plan in place,” Goku assured her with a grin.  “Also, King Kai is really cool.  Who knows, he might be able to teach you a few things!”  
“Okay,” she said quietly with a half-smile.  “I trust you.”  
            The three Saiyans walked back towards the front of King Kai’s house, and Goku and King Vegeta said their goodbyes to King Kai and Clara.  
“I guess I’ll see you guys later,” Clara said to her father and Goku as she fiddled with her hands.  
“It won’t be long,” Goku said as he reached out and pulled Clara in for a hug.  “I promise.”  She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him as she buried her face into his chest.  After a few seconds, she broke away from him and exhaled.   
“Trust Kakarot,” King Vegeta told his daughter.  “If he says it won’t be long, then it won’t be.”  He reached out and laid his right hand on her left shoulder, and Clara placed her left cheek on top of his hand.  “Oh, and King Kai,” he continued.  “I’m trusting you with my daughter for the next few days.”  
“Yes, sir,” King Kai affirmed.  “You can rest assured that your daughter couldn’t be in better hands.”  
“Alright Kakarot.  Let’s get going,” King Vegeta said as he grabbed onto Goku’s shoulder.  As Clara stood next to King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory, the Saiyan King and Goku vanished – leaving the young Saiyan Princess in the other world.  
        


 

 

**"You may tell the greatest lies and wear a brilliant disguise, but you can't escape the eyes of those who see right through you." - Tom Robbins**

 

  “You did WHAT?!”  A loud voice from the Capsule Corporation living room yelled.

“Vegeta, listen to me, please,” Bulma begged of her furious husband.  
“I have no interest in listening to what you have to say!”  Vegeta furiously yelled back as he stood face-to-face with his wife.  “You’ve made me feel like a complete moron!”  
Outside the Capsule Corporation doors stood King Vegeta along with Goku – both of them apprehensive to enter the loud household.  
“What do you think happened?”  Goku asked the Saiyan King.  
“I couldn’t tell you,” he replied.  “I know it doesn’t take much to set Vegeta off.”  
After a few minutes of listening to the back and forth yelling, the two Saiyans finally decided to slowly and quietly enter through the front doors and tried to figure out what was going on.  As soon as they entered through the front doors, they were met by a young Trunks sneaking down the stairs to listen to the argument.   
“Psst, Goku,” Trunks quietly called to grab the Saiyan’s attention.  
“Hey, Trunks,” Goku said quietly as he turned around to look at the little Saiyan.  “What’s going on with them?”  
“I don’t know,” he shrugged.  “They’ve been at it for about thirty minutes,” he informed Goku.  “Who’s that guy?”  He asked as he pointed to King Vegeta.  “He looks like my dad.”  
“Vegeta’s your father?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“Uh…uh huh,” Trunks nodded.  
“I’m his father,” King Vegeta said quietly and bluntly.  
“Wait!  What?!  So you’re my grandfather?!”  Trunks accidently yelled.  Due to his loudness, he attracted the attention of Vegeta and Bulma.  
“Trunks!”  Vegeta yelled which shook Trunks and a look of fear came onto his face.  “Get in here!”  As Trunks began walking slowly into the living room, Vegeta yelled out for the other two Saiyans to come in there as well.  As the three of them entered the living room, Trunks was to the left of King Vegeta, and Goku was to the right.   
“Yeah, dad?”  Trunks said nervously.  
“Go to your room and stay there until one of us tells you that you can leave.  Now,” Vegeta commanded him after he glared at him for a few seconds.   
“Yes, sir!”  Trunks exclaimed as he quickly turned around and sprinted back upstairs to his room.  
“What’s going on, son?”  King Vegeta asked as he looked at the angry couple sitting on the couch.  
“This is what’s going on,” Vegeta said as he laid a few pieces of paper and two test tubes out onto the coffee table in front of him.  Seconds later, he motioned for Goku and his father to take a look at the objects that he laid out.  
“What is all this?”  Goku asked as he looked at the papers and King Vegeta looked at the test tubes.  
“First, let’s start with lie number one!”  Vegeta suggested with almost a laugh out of anger.  “Let’s see.  Oh this one!”  He said as he grabbed the two test tubes from his father.  “These, I found in the lab when I went to look for Bulma’s dragon radar.  This one with the red label is my DNA, and this one with the black label is Clara’s DNA.  Go ahead and try to guess what she was going to use them for.  I’ll give you ten seconds.  Ready?  Go.”  
The two dumbfounded Saiyans stood there silently for the ten seconds that Vegeta gave them to guess what she had the DNA vials for.  
“Wrong,” he said after the ten seconds were up.  “Don’t worry, it took me ten minutes to get it out of her.  She claims that she was going to use Clara’s DNA to help her regain her memories, now, whether that’s true or not is anyone’s guess.  And apparently, she was going to use _my_ DNA to create – are you ready?  To create a baby using my DNA along with her DNA.  Now, you may be asking yourselves, ‘but Vegeta, I thought that Bulma was already three months pregnant?’  Nope, you’re wrong again.  According to my wife, she can’t have any more children, but I seem to have figured out why she felt the need to lie about it.  Ready?”  
The very visibly pissed off Vegeta grabbed the papers out of Goku’s hand and slammed them down on the coffee table.  
“Do these names look familiar to you?” He asked as he pointed to the names that Bulma had said were names for their unborn baby.  “They look a little familiar to me.  How about these addresses?  Or these phone numbers?  Yeah, I don’t recognize those either!  Wanna know why?  Apparently, she’s been calling Capsule Corporation investors and she has been asking for money in order to, ‘help take care of the poor unfortunate girl who she very kindly took in out of the goodness of her heart’.  At least that’s what Mrs. Anda Omura told me when I called her and asked her about this a few minutes ago,” he said as he pointed to the seventh name on the list.  “So, in the end, Bulma, my wife, lied to me about being pregnant, is using mine and my sister’s DNA for God knows what, and is using my sister as a charity case.”  
            Goku and King Vegeta didn’t utter a single word in response to the furious prince, but instead, they looked at all the evidence laid out on the table in front of them.   
“Vegeta,” Bulma finally quietly said, but her words were met with an uninterested husband and the silent treatment.  “Vegeta, please.  I’m begging you,” she continued, “let me make this up to you.”  
“I haven’t heard that before, have I?”  He sarcastically replied with his head leaned back over the couch and his eyes closed  
“Vegeta, I’m serious,” she began to said with a crack in her voice, and her eyes beginning to fill with tears.  “I might can help with the Flozoru that you told me about.”  
“I highly doubt that,” Vegeta scoffed.  “All you’ve been good for is lying to me to get what you want.”  
“Do you really think you can help?”  King Vegeta questioned her.  
“Stay out of this,” Vegeta said nonchalantly in reply to his father.  “This doesn’t concern you.”  
Suddenly, King Vegeta appeared behind his son who was still leaning his head over the back of the couch.  “This does concern me!”  He yelled as he grabbed Vegeta by the back of his hair and pulled his head further down so that he was looking up at him.  “She’s my daughter, and right now your ridiculous marital squabble doesn’t interest me – especially when all of our lives are at risk!  And how many times have I told you to drop your disrespectful attitude towards me, prince?!”  He yelled at his son and he pulled his hair tighter.   
_How humiliating!_ Vegeta thought.  _Doing this here in front of my wife and Kakarot!_  
“Yes, I believe I might know a way to lure her out,” Bulma said as she went to try to get King Vegeta’s hand off of her husband’s head.  “Just let him go, please.”  
“Go on,” he said as he let go of Vegeta’s head.  
“This may sound far-fetched but just hear me out,” she began.  “It’s true that I can’t have any more children, and Vegeta told me that Gurki can only inhabit the bodies of newborn Saiyan females, so it got me thinking.  What if there was a way to lure her to us by creating a new female Saiyan?”  
“How do you mean?”  King Vegeta questioned her suspiciously.   
“I will admit that I’ve been trying to make a new baby by using mine and Vegeta’s DNA, but clearly it hasn’t worked; however, I believe that if I can take a fertile egg from either a human or Saiyan female and X sperm from either a human or Saiyan male, it could work to make a female Saiyan, and it would lure out Gurki.”  
“You wanna play God?”  Vegeta scoffed.  “Good luck with getting me to agree to that.”  
“If it means saving the world, you may not have a choice!” she countered him.  “I can’t have any more kids, so the only other viable females I can think of would be Clara, ChiChi, Videl, or 18, and the only other guys I can think of would be Vegeta, King Vegeta, Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha, or Tien,” she explained to the group of Saiyans.  
“You can go ahead and scratch ChiChi and me off your list,” Goku said once Bulma was finished listing her viable donors.  
“Okay, so we could either do Clara with Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha, or Tien.  Gohan with 18, Videl, or Clara.  Or King Vegeta or Vegeta with 18 or Videl.  I don’t feel like using Gohan and 18 or Gohan and Videl would give us the best chance though since the baby would only be a quarter Saiyan.  It might not be enough to draw her out,” Bulma suggested.  
“Why are we even wasting our time?”  Vegeta asked, sounding annoyed.  “Just let her float around out there.”  
“No,” King Vegeta quickly interrupted.  “That’s not what you want.”  
“Huh?  Why not?”  Goku asked curiously.  
“The longer she’s without a host body, the stronger she becomes when she’s out on her own,” King Vegeta explained.  “We need to get her contained as soon as possible, otherwise, she could blow up the planet.  She could transform into any of her previous host’s bodies and cause havoc on Earth at any moment.”  
“So why does she even want a host body in the first place if she’s stronger on her own?”  Bulma asked.  
“She’s a Saiyan,” King Vegeta began to explain.  “She wants to feel like a Saiyan again and for as long as possible, and each time she dwells within a Saiyan’s body, she grows even stronger when she’s out on her own by absorbing their power and abilities that they gain throughout their lifetime.”  
“Is there even a way to contain her?”  Vegeta asked his father as he continued to lean his head over the back of the couch.  “She seems like she has a lot of free will.”  
“There is a way to contain her,” King Vegeta answered, “but it has to be done as soon as the child is born, and the child must be made of a strong blood line, strong enough to control her.”  
“How do you contain her?”  Bulma asked curiously.  
“Legend goes that if a newborn’s soul is immediately tethered to a Flozoru’s as soon they enter a body, then the Flozoru’s soul will die whenever the host dies,” King Vegeta began to explain.  “It almost worked with my grandmother all those years ago, but in the end, my grandmother was unable to control her any longer, and Gurki broke the tether.”  
“Then why didn’t you do that with Clara?”  Vegeta asked his father.  
“I didn’t think that I needed to.  I thought I sent her away quick enough,” King Vegeta answered.  “However, I believe that it might be a familial thing.”  
“What do you mean?”  Goku asked as he confusedly looked at Saiyan King.  
“I mean that ever since the beginning of the Saiyans, she’s only ever taken over the bodies of the female Saiyans on my side of the family.  I believe that somewhere down the line, Gurki is one of my ancestors.  The only females she’s ever taken over for an extended period of time were my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and most recently, Clara.  All the others she took over were merely for passing time until she could get a stronger body.”  
“Not your mother?”  Bulma asked.  
“No,” he shook his head.  “My grandmother only had two sons – one of them was my father who married my mother who was from a different family.  Who is this “18” and “Videl”?”  
“18 is Krillin’s wife,” Goku began to explain.  “She’s an android and a really pretty one at that.  Videl is my son Gohan’s girlfriend, but she’s only eighteen.”  
“A half-breed,” the Saiyan King whispered to himself as he fathomed the thought of producing a hybrid offspring.  “I must admit that I’m not too keen on having a half-breed – especially if it’s going to be a girl, and having a child with an eighteen-year-old is out of the question.”  
“What’s wrong with a half-breed girl?”  Bulma questioned.  
“Because of me, there’s only one full breed female Saiyan left – Clara.  As I’m sure you know, females are needed in order to help a population grow, and I don’t think that having a half-breed female would help our race too much because in return she would produce a quarter Saiyan and it would keep dwindling down from there.  Besides, I’m not even sure if Gurki could inhabit a half-breed.”  
“She seemed pretty sure she could to me,” Vegeta scoffed.  
“How would she know?  She’s never done it,” King Vegeta reminded his son.  “She’s only ever taken over full breeds.  If we’re going to do this, we need to do it right.  Not just for the sake of containing Gurki, but also to help further our race in the future.”  
“What are you saying?”  Vegeta questioned his father even though he knew what would be said.  
“Kakarot and Clara,” he said bluntly as he looked at Goku.  Immediately, Vegeta shot up from his leaned back position and turned around to look back and forth at Goku and his father.  Bulma, who was still sitting next to her previously angered, but now shocked husband, looked at the Saiyan King in pure shock.  Lastly, Goku, who had turned completely red in the face was locked in a staring contest with the king at a loss for words.  
            “Father,” Vegeta finally said.  “No…you can’t be serious about this…Kakarot and…no.”  
“It’s not your call, Vegeta,” he replied to his son.  “It’s theirs’.”  
“I uh,” Goku began as he tried to find words to express his thoughts.  “I uh…I’m married.  Happily married.  I don’t think my wife would be okay with this.  I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.”  
“See?  Look.  There you go, father.  He said ‘no’,” Vegeta said, trying to change his father’s mind.  
“I haven’t known you long, but I know that if you’re anything like your father, Bardock, then you’ll do anything that you can to help save a dying race,” King Vegeta began as he continued to stare at Goku and ignore his son’s attempt to change his mind.  “I can also tell that you care for my daughter, so tell me, if you weren’t married, what would your answer be?”  
“Well…if I wasn’t married…then I guess…I guess I’d have to say ‘yes’, but I _am_ married.  I’d never do anything to throw that away.  We have two children together,” Goku insisted.  
“You do realize that there will eventually be a Saiyan girl born either by your children, Vegeta’s son, or any grandchild down the line, don’t you?  What if it turns out that Gurki is able to take control of hybrids, and she spends the next hundred years or so floating around and getting stronger until eventually that Saiyan hybrid girl is born?  By that time, neither you, Vegeta, nor Clara will be alive or even strong enough to kill her, and she will destroy everything.  Wouldn’t you rather be one-hundred percent sure that she is contained and will eventually die rather than let the world go up in flames?  Even right now, she possesses the power to destroy the planet, but she’s counting on Vegeta and Bulma’s nonexistent child to be a girl, so that she can feel like an actual Saiyan again.  You wouldn’t just be helping the Saiyan race, you’d also be saving your family’s life, as well as mine and everyone else’s on this planet.”  
“He kind of has a point,” Bulma butted in to back up the Saiyan King.  
“Bulma stay out of this,” Vegeta said angrily.  “If Kakarot doesn’t want to, then he doesn’t have to.”  
“Shut up, Vegeta,” Bulma snapped back.  “I may have a way for the two of them to have a Saiyan girl but not have sex or any physical contact for that matter.”  Without reply, the three Saiyans stopped and looked at Bulma in pure confusion.  “We could use Goku as any normal, anonymous, donor,” she said excitedly.  “Technically, he wouldn’t be cheating on ChiChi, and by law, if he’s married, the baby can’t have his last name, he can’t be listed as the father once the baby is born, and no one is allowed to release the paternal information.  ChiChi wouldn’t find out about her being Goku’s daughter.”  
“But I would know about her,” Goku countered.  “I can’t keep something that big from ChiChi, Gohan, or Goten.  It doesn’t feel right.  Besides, if she’s going to be my daughter, then I want to be in her life as her father.  What’s stopping us from trying a half-breed first?”  
“We need to contain her as soon as possible, Kakarot, as in the next year,” King Vegeta began.  “As I said, the longer she’s without a host body, the stronger she becomes.  If we use a half-breed girl, and it turns out that’s she unable to possess her, then she could very well blow up the planet out of frustration and anger when she realizes that she will never be able to inhabit a Saiyan’s body again.  However, we know for a fact that she can share the body of a full blooded Saiyan girl, and she will as soon as one is born.”  
“But what if she _is_ able to use a half-breed’s body?”  Goku countered.  “After all, she did sound confident when she threatened Vegeta.”  
“Are you telling me that you’re willing to chance it?”  King Vegeta asked sounding shocked.  
“What about a three-quarter Saiyan girl?”  Goku countered back without answering King Vegeta’s question.  
“You would seriously try to get Gohan and Clara to have one instead of you anonymously donating to have one?”  Vegeta asked as he looked at Goku with a suspicious look.  “Call me crazy, but I don’t think your wife or Gohan’s girlfriend would be too thrilled about that.”  
“Damn,” Goku said quietly.  “I forgot about Videl.”  
_Save the Earth, save my family, save everyone’s family, gain a daughter, help revive the Saiyan race,_ Goku thought as he stared down to the floor.  _But ChiChi, Gohan, and Goten.  I can’t hurt them like this, but would it really hurt them if it saves their lives?_  
            “I have conditions,” Goku finally said, still looking down as he pulled himself out of his thought.  
“Naturally,” King Vegeta nodded.  
“I don’t want anyone who isn’t in this room besides Clara knowing about this,” Goku began.  “If I want anyone else to know, I’ll tell them personally.”  
“Deal,” King Vegeta confirmed.  “Understandable.”  
“And most importantly, I want to be in her life as her father,” Goku began.  “I want her to know that I love her.  I don’t want the only reason for her existence to be for containing Gurki.  I want her to have a normal life – make friends, go to school, grow up, get married, have kids, and everything in between.”  
“I understand,” King Vegeta confirmed.  “But you are going to have to be the one to tether Gurki to her once she’s born, and we’ll all have to work together in teaching her how to keep her under control once she’s old enough.”  
Goku looked up to the Saiyan King who was still standing behind the couch, Vegeta, who was sitting on the left side of the couch, and Bulma who was sitting on the right side.  As he made eye contact with them, they each gave him a nod of thanks.  
“Okay,” Bulma sighed as she stood up from the couch.  “I better get to work.  I need to figure out a way to stop your body from producing Y sperm.”  
“Uh…is that going to hurt?”  Goku asked concerned.  
“No.  Not at all,” Bulma assured him.  “It’ll be a pill that you’ll take that will inhibit your body from making Y sperm and forcing your body to only produce X sperm.”  
“How long will it last?”  Goku asked curiously.  
“The effects will be permanent,” Bulma said quietly.  “You’ll only be able to have girls once you take it.”  
“That’s fine, I guess,” Goku shrugged.  “ChiChi and I weren’t planning on having any more kids anyways.”  
“Alright, well, I’m headed to the lab to start working,” Bulma said as she walked away from the trio of Saiyans.  “The dragon radar is in the top right drawer of my dresser in our room, Vegeta.  The faster you guys get Clara back, the faster we can get a move on with all this.”  
As she walked out of the room, Vegeta headed upstairs to get the dragon radar without saying a word, and King Vegeta and Goku sat down on the couch and waited for Vegeta to return.  
“Thank you,” King Vegeta said quietly as he exhaled a breath.  
“For what?”  Goku chuckled as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.  “You were right about me.  This planet and its people are precious to me, and I’ll do anything to protect them – even if it means having a secret daughter.”  
“Well, let’s just hope Clara feels the same way,” King Vegeta said in concern.  “If she doesn’t agree to this, then we’ll be back at square one.”  
“Well, when we wish her back to life and her memories back, I’m sure she’ll remember how she controlled Gurki for so long,” Goku said, sounding positive.  “She might know what to teach our daughter better than we do.”  
“Maybe,” King Vegeta nodded his head.  “We’ll only know once she’s back here on Earth.”


	26. Clara Saga - Part 26

**PART TWENTY-SIX: MEMORIES**

**"Memories are bullets.  Some whiz by you and only spook you.  Others tear you open and leave you in pieces." - Richard Kadrey**

 

   Keeping true to their word, a few days later, Vegeta, King Vegeta, and Goku were able to gather all seven of the dragon balls.  As the three of them gathered on the lawn, the dragon balls lit up and waited for Goku to summon Shenron.  With two wishes left, they used the first wish to bring Clara back to life.  As they wished her back, she noticed the halo above her head disappear and her body become alive.  With the second and final wish, they wished for Clara’s memories to be returned.  Still on King Kai’s planet, Clara fell to her knees in immense pain and covered her eyes with her hands.  _My head’s about to explode,_ she thought to herself as tears filled her eyes.  King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory stood behind the young Saiyan, feeling completely helpless.  Within a few seconds, Goku used his instant transmission to appear next to her.  As he knelt down on his right knee on her left side, he wrapped his right arm over her back and pulled her close to him as she screamed and cried from the pain.   
“I’m right here,” Goku quietly said to her as he sat completely on the ground and pulled her over so that she was laying on her left side in his lap with her back towards him.  With his right hand, he reached over and rubbed her forehead as she continued to hold her fingers over her eyes and convulse in pain.  After about forty-five seconds, she dropped her hands from her eyes, and her body quit trembling.  “Hey, are you alright?”  Goku asked, sounding concerned at he continued to rub her forehead.  
“Is she okay?”  King Kai asked after witnessing the event that just happened right in front of him.  
“I’m not sure,” Goku admitted as he looked down at the young Saiyan who was laying her head in his lap.  “She’s still breathing though.”  
“I’m gonna get her out of here,” Goku finally said after a few seconds of silence.  He picked up the unconscious Saiyan and carried her bridal style.  With his right hand under her legs, he pulled his hand close to his forehead and used instant transmission to take her back to the Capsule Corp front lawn.   
“What happened to her?”  King Vegeta demanded to know as he saw Goku arrive back with the unconscious Clara in his arms.  
“She’s fine,” Goku said quietly as he walked past the Saiyan King and Vegeta.  “She just needs to rest.”  
“Her room is on the second floor on the right,” Vegeta told Goku.     
“Got it,” Goku replied quietly as he continued to look at Clara and walk through the front doors.  “Please be alright,” he whispered to her as he started up the stairs.  Once he reached her room, he heard Vegeta walk in behind him.  
“Hey,” Vegeta said as he walked up to Goku who was still carrying his sister.  
“She’s gonna be fine, Vegeta,” Goku said as he went to lay Clara down on her bed.  
“I know she is,” Vegeta scoffed.  “Hang on a second.”  Vegeta moved Goku aside and turned back the blankets on the bed so that his little sister would be covered up.  “There,” he said as he moved away from the bed and headed back towards the door.  “Now she won’t be cold.”  
            Once Vegeta closed the door after walking out of the room, Goku gently laid the unconscious Saiyan on the bed.  After he had her laid down on her back, he took her tennis shoes off and set them on the floor by the bed before covering her up with that blanket.   
“Hey, beautiful,” he said quietly as squatted down by her bed and pushed her hair out of her face.  “Is that wrong of me to say?” he asked as he crossed his arms on the edge of the bed and laid his chin on them.  “I guess not – especially if it’s true,” he answered his own question.  “I know you’ll pull out of this, it’s only a matter of time.  And when you do, I’ll be right here,” he continued to tell her as he stroked her hair.  “There are so many things that we need your help with.”  
“Like what?”  Clara asked silently as she began to open her eyes and turn her head towards Goku.  
“Hey, you’re awake,” Goku said quietly with a smile.  
“Clearly,” she chuckled.  
“How are you feeling?”  He asked as she closed her eyes again.  
“I’m not sure,” she said quietly as she turned her head back in the center and took a deep breath in.  “Confused, I guess.”  
“Confused?”  Goku asked curiously.  “I thought Shenron returned your -,”  
“He did,” Clara said as she cut him off.  
“I’ll be right back,” Goku said as he began to stand up.  “I’m gonna go get your father and brother.”  
“No, don’t,” she said as she turned her head back towards him, opened her eyes, and grabbed his right arm.  “Don’t get them yet.”  
“Okay,” he said quietly as he knelt back down by her bed.  “What do you remember?”  
“Everything,” she whispered with a half-smile.  “But what’s most important is that Gurki is stopped.”  
“I know,” Goku replied as he nodded his head.  “We kinda already came up with a plan to take care of her.”  
“Really?”  Clara asked with disbelief on her face.  “The only time she’s able to go into a female Saiyan is the moment they are born,” Clara explained.  “You’d have to somehow get a newborn Saiyan female.”  
“Yeah,” Goku chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.  “About that.  We kinda already -,”  
“Wait,” she interrupted Goku.  “Don’t tell me that Bulma told you guys that she’s pregnant.  Goku, that’s not true.”  
“Yeah, we figured that out,” Goku confessed.  “Vegeta caught onto her, but none of that matters anymore.”  
“Well then, what did you guys come up with?”  She asked curiously.  “If only it were possible to put her back in me – I could control her, but I doubt she’d take the bait.”  
“Huh?  Why do you say that?”  Goku asked.  
“Because,” Clara began to explain.  “I was able to control her 100%.  I was able to tap into her power when and if I needed it, but I also knew how to not let her take control of me.  That’s why she left when she did.  She knew that if I regained my memories before she left my body, then she would lose her chance to be free again, but she also wanted to make sure that I was dead in the process.”  
“Then why didn’t she leave when you first forgot how to control her?”  Goku wondered.  
“Because she craves power.  She stays in the body for as long as she possibly can – absorbing the power that the host gains, and then leaves when the host dies to move on to the next newborn female; however, she didn’t plan you coming in to take me to King Kai’s planet or wishing me back to life.”  
“Well, do you think she’d take the bait if there was a newborn Saiyan female?”  Goku asked curiously.  
“Absolutely,” Clara confirmed.  “She’s a Saiyan above all things.  All she wants is to feel like a Saiyan again and to gain as much power as she can for as long as she can, but there would have to be a newborn Saiyan female first.”  
“Yeah, that’s what King Vegeta said,” Goku nodded.  “We may have come up with a plan to get one while you were gone.”  
“Really?”  Clara said as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  “How?”  
Before Goku began explaining the plan that had been agreed upon, he grabbed Clara’s hand and held it close to him.  “Bulma has come up with a way to guarantee that you and I to have a girl,” he said simply.  
“What?”  Clara asked, sounding as if all her breath escaped her.  
“We aren’t completely sure if Gurki can inhabit the body of a half-Saiyan, and it’s too big of a risk to take,” Goku explained.  “But we know for a fact that she can take inhabit the body of a full blood, and since you and I are the only full bloods that aren’t family, it has to be us.”  
“Goku,” she said, still sounding out of breath.  
“I know it’s a huge decision, but it’s for the sake of the planet and everyone on it,” Goku began to ramble.  “It took me a little bit to finally -,”  
“I can’t,” she cut him off – catching Goku by surprise and at a loss for words.  
“But, Clara -,” he began.  
“That’s not my name,” she quietly interrupted him again.  “It’s Kali – Queen Kali Erebus.”  
“Queen?”  Goku asked quietly with shock on his face.  
“Yes,” she quietly confirmed.  “My husband is King Cretos Erebus.”  
“Husband?”  Goku asked, still having shock on his face.  
“Yes,” Clara nodded.  “We are the King and Queen of a race of people called the Sroids on the planet named Erebus.”  
“I’ve never heard of that planet,” Goku confessed, still shocked.  
“You wouldn’t have,” Clara chuckled.  “It’s at the far end of the Western galaxy – almost at the end of the universe.”  
“Well,” Goku sighed.  “I guess we’ll have to find some other way to handle Gurki.  I’m sure you’d like to go back home.”  
“You really are an idiot sometimes, aren’t you?”  She chuckled.  “Aren’t you forgetting?  I came here for a reason.  I came here to get help killing my husband.”  
At the sound of her statement, pure disbelief and shock came across Goku’s face once again.  “Killing your husband?”  He asked, making sure he heard her right.  
“Yes,” she confirmed as she swung her legs over and stood up out of the bed.  “I think it’s time to clue the others in.”  
“Hang on,” Goku said as he grabbed her right arm while she was heading for the door.  “What did he do to make you want him dead?”  
“Just follow me,” she said quietly.  The two Saiyans walked out of the bedroom and started down to the kitchen where the Saiyan Prince and King were pigging out on lunch.

 

**"'You know the things you put in your head stay there, right?'**

**'Yeah, but you remember some things, don't you?'**

**'Yeah, you remember the things you want to forget and forget the things you**

**want to remember' " - Cormac McCarthy, The Road**

 

  “So, why do we need to kill your husband?”  King Vegeta asked as he and his son continued to eat their food.  
“I don’t need to give a reason,” Clara told them bluntly.  “I just need him dead, and I’m not strong enough to do it on my own.”  
“Frankly, I don’t care what the reason is,” Vegeta scoffed.  “Whatever he did must have been bad enough for you to come all this way for help.”  
“It was,” Clara quietly confirmed, almost in tears  
“I never would have guessed,” King Vegeta scoffed.  “My daughter – the Queen of the Sroids.”  
“You talk like you know them or something,” Clara pointed out.  
“Because I do,” King Vegeta said casually before taking a bite of out of the chicken leg that he was holding.  After seeing the other three Saiyans looking at him, waiting for an explanation, he put down his chicken leg, let out a sigh, and began to explain.  “Long ago,” he began, “The Saiyans and the Sroids lived together on Planet Sadala – the planet that the Saiyans had before Planet Plant and then later Planet Vegeta.  The Saiyans and the Sroids became enemies, and a war broke out that caused each race to go find a new home before the planet exploded.  The Sroids moved the Planet Erebus, and the Saiyans moved to Planet Plant, and lived with the Tuffles until I took it from the Tuffles.  That’s all you need to know,” he finished before picking his chicken leg back up and taking another bite.  
“I knew the Sroids didn’t like the Saiyans, but I was told that the Saiyans forced the Sroids to leave Planet Sadala,” Clara added.  
“More like the Sroids blew the planet up,” King Vegeta scoffed.  “But anyways, I’ve got no problem in killing the Sroidian King.”  
“Same here,” Vegeta added with his mouth full.  
“Aren’t we forgetting what’s really important here?”  Goku butted in.  “What about Gurki?”  The eating Saiyans stopped eating at the sound of the name and looked at each other before looking at Clara and Goku who were standing at the head of the table still.   
“Clara, or Kali, or whatever you want me to call you -,” King Vegeta began.  
“Clara,” she interrupted bluntly.  “And if you’re going to tell me about what you all planned, then I should tell you that I already know about it, but I can’t do it.  I’m sorry.”  
“Do you realize that your planet will be blown up if we don’t contain her?”  King Vegeta asked as he stood up from his seat and walked towards his daughter.  
“I know that, father,” Clara said sternly.  “I just can’t.”  
“Is it because you’re married?”  King Vegeta asked.  “Goku’s married, and he still agreed to it.”  
“It would be a mistake, trust me,” Clara quietly insisted as her father stood in front of her.  “The last thing you want is a child in my possession.”  After the words left her mouth, tears began to fill her eyes, and even though she did everything in her power to keep them from falling, her willpower was no match for the pain she felt.  As she stood there with quiet tears running down her face, Goku placed his left hand on her right shoulder and wiped her tears away with his right hand.  
“Can you take me to my ship?”  She quietly asked Goku as she sniffled.  
“Sure thing,” he said with a half-smile.   
“Dad, Vegeta, stay here,” she told them as she and Goku headed towards the front door.  “We’ll be right back.”   
“Can you fly?”  Goku asked her as they stepped outside.  
“No, not anymore,” she admitted.  “I was only able to fly if I had Gurki’s power.”  
“Alrighty then,” Goku said as he bent down and picked Clara up bridal style.  “This is much faster than walking.”  
            “There it is,” Clara said as they came up on the crash site.  “Do you think they’ll ever move it?”  She asked as Goku landed.  
“That’s a good question,” Goku said as Clara jumped down from his arms.  “I’m sure Bulma could have had some people sent out here to move it.”  
“Yeah, I don’t trust her,” Clara scoffed as she made her way towards the destroyed ship with Goku following.  
“Bulma can be kinda…stubborn, I guess would be the word,” Goku began.  “She likes to get what she wants.”  
“You don’t say?”  Clara said nonchalantly as she neared the busted out windshield that had been used as the entryway.  As she and Goku got inside the ship, they had to duck in order to not hit the ceiling.   
“Sheesh,” Goku said as he took in the surroundings.  “How did you survive this?”  
“I wish I knew the answer,” Clara said as she made her way to the back of the ship.  “I guess it was just luck,” she said quietly.  “Here they are,” she said as she got to the back of the ship and saw her belongings that she had dumped out on the floor.  Once she got to the pile of keepsakes, she sat down on one side, and Goku sat down on the other side across from her.   
“What is all this stuff?”  Goku asked as he began to look at all the different objects.  Before she began explaining, she took the little red cape out of her back jeans pocket and held it in her hands.  
“This is my cape,” she said with a short smirk on her face.  “It’s what my dad wrapped me in when he sent me away as a newborn.  When I landed on Earth in 1882, the elderly couple who found me kept me for a few years – until I was six, before finally deciding to send me back to where I came from because I was too much for them to handle, and because I had a tail, they were embarrassed to be seen with me.  Since my ship was programmed to go back to the time and planet that I came from, all they had to do was press a button, and voila, I was out of their hair.  What they didn’t know is that Planet Vegeta had been destroyed, so the machine took me to a random planet in a different time.  I ended up on Planet Erebus in their year 552 which translates to 1998 on Earth.  When I landed, they knew exactly what I was due to my tail that they eventually cut off and my cape that I used as a security blanket that symbolized me as royalty, and as you know, they aren’t exactly a fan of the Saiyans.  From the time I landed until the time I was eighteen, I was a servant for the royal family.  They knew about Gurki because they had lived with the Saiyans when my great-great-grandmother was taken over by her.  The one good thing that they did for me was teach me how to keep her under control.  They trained me in weapons so that I never had to use energy – which is why I can’t fly or use blasts – I’ve never known how.  When someone uses energy for anything besides necessities and has Gurki in their body, Gurki is able to take over.  Once I was eighteen, I married the Sroidian Prince, Cretos.  Two years later, his parents, the king and queen, died from unknown causes, and we took our throne.”  
“Woah,” Goku said in surprise as Clara stood up from the keepsakes and walked over to the wall.  
“There’s another hidden compartment in here,” she said as she ran her hands along the wall, and eventually opening up a secret cubby about the size of a safety deposit box.  “This was taken on our wedding day,” she said as she took a picture out of the small compartment and sat back down.  The picture depicted a younger Clara and a young Prince Cretos at their wedding, standing in front of the king and queen’s throne in a close embrace.  The picture showed a gorgeous eighteen-year-old Clara in a beautiful white gown with gold accents on the collar.  Her face was flawless as she looked up to her new husband with loving eyes.  Her hair was down and looked beautiful with a white rose in it, and on her right wrist was a gorgeous corsage.  Her husband, Cretos, wore the traditional prince’s uniform – a black body suit with white armor accented in gold and a red cape hanging down behind him.  His light brown hair went down to his collar bone, his ice blue eyes looked right towards the camera, and on the left side of his face, crossing over his lips, was a long scar.  
 _Wow,_ Goku thought as he looked at the picture.  _She’s so…_  
“You look so gorgeous,” Goku uttered without thinking, but then soon realized what he had said.  “So, uh, how did he get that scar?”  He asked, changing the subject.  
“Nice save,” she chuckled, making Goku blush.  “He got that from me,” she began as a smirk came across her face.  “He was seven when I landed there, and one time, he got on my nerves while I was training and so I cut him with one of my kunais.”  
“So, I’m guessing that’s why you have these?”  Goku asked as he put down the picture and picked up the knives.  
“Those are my best weapons,” she nodded.  “My aim is nearly perfect every single time.  I have other weapons, but they’re at the palace.”  
“That’s Cretos’ necklace,” she said as Goku went to grab the necklace with the skull and sword on it.  
“Why do you have it if you want him dead?”  Goku asked.  “It’s precious to him – it symbolizes him as a warrior.  He took something that was precious to me, so I took something that was precious to him.”  
“What did he take?”  Goku asked quietly, sounding concerned.  
“This,” she said as she held up the small tube with ashes in it.   
“What is it?”  Goku asked as she held the tube up to him.  After he asked, Clara looked at the tube again, held it close to her chest with her left hand, and tears began to fill her eyes once more.  As she looked at it, her heart fell to the floor and breathing became almost impossible.   
“It’s the reason why I want my husband dead,” she said with coldness in her voice.  
“Clara,” Goku said quietly as he reached his hand out to her and grabbed her right hand.  “What’s in there?”  Without answering him, tears began to roll down her eyes once more, and yet again, they were wiped away with Goku’s free hand.  “Hey, you can tell me anything,” he said, sounding assuring.  
“Camilla,” she said quietly as she took a deep breath in and closed her eyes to stop the tears from flowing.  “Her name was Camilla – Princess Camilla,” she continued with a calm voice.  “Our daughter, our little girl.”  
“What did he do to her?”  Goku asked with a worried tone.  
“He didn’t want to risk Gurki leaving my body to take hers, so he did what he felt he had to do – he killed her two days after she was born – the one time I didn’t have her clinging to me.  That’s why I can’t be a mother to another daughter, or child for that matter.  The second I turn my back is the second that something will happen.”  
“That’s not true,” Goku said in a semi-stern voice as he picked Clara’s head up under her chin with his right hand to get her to look at him.  “Listen to me, you can’t blame yourself for his actions.  The way I see it, he’s a coward.  He’s a sorry excuse for a king, husband, and father, but the woman I see sitting across from me is strong, beautiful, and a kind hearted person who I’m sure is the best queen to a race of people, wife to a cowardly husband, and mother to a princess who did and still does love you.  You’re not the one at fault for what he did – he is.”  
“You’re the first person to tell me that, ya know,” Clara said quietly as she looked back down.  “I left our planet to come here five days after she was killed because I had learned some things that I wasn’t supposed to know, and that’s when I decided that I needed to get help to get rid of him.  During those five days, everyone from him to the cooks, maids, and even members of our military told me that if I had been watching her, she wouldn’t be dead.”  
“Well, I’ll say it again,” Goku said.  “You’re not the one to blame, and I promise you – I promise on my life that absolutely no harm will come to our daughter,” he said with seriousness in his voice.   
 _What is it about you?_ Clara asked herself.  _What is it that makes you so…trustworthy?  How is it that whenever you speak, everything just seems to get better?_  
“You know, if…if you wanna go through with the plan,” Goku nervously chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.  “I mean, I know Bulma’s already got everything she needs, and all you really have to do is go see her so she can do what she has to do to get things going.”  
“Who all is going to know about this?”  Clara asked as she looked up and interrupted Goku’s rambling.  
“Uh…you, me, Bulma, Vegeta, and your father,” Goku answered.  
“What about your wife?”  Clara asked with suspicion.  “You’re just gonna keep something this big from her.”  
“I’m actually not sure,” Goku answered with all honesty.  “I mean, I’m technically not cheating on her, and it’s to help save the planet, but then again, she might not appreciate another woman carrying my child.”  
“Well, if I had two children with a man that I was married to, and it turned out that he had to have another child with someone of the same species as him in order to save the planet that my children and I live on, then I’d send him with some candles, rose petals, some expensive champagne, and money for a nice hotel room with reservations for two,” Clara slightly chuckled.  
“I’ve actually been wanting another one,” Goku nervously confessed with a slight chuckle.  “I missed out on a lot of years with my sons, and I kinda want to have a redo.”  
“Then why not have one with your wife?”  Clara suggested.  “I mean, don’t let the one that we have to have stop you.”  
“Trust me,” Goku smirked.  “I want to, but apparently after a certain age, women can’t have kids anymore or else it gets too dangerous when they go to have them.”  
“Huh, that’s strange.  I know that Saiyan males and females age at a much slower rate than humans, and can have them at any time without consequences,” Clara casually replied.  
“Yeah, I know,” Goku nodded.  “I love our two boys completely, but I just wish she would have given me one more, you know?  Who knows what he or she could have been like.”  
“I guess you’ve forgotten about me,” Clara chuckled.  “If Bulma knows what she’s doing, then I’m giving you a girl,” she reminded him with a half-smile.  
 _Her smile,_ Goku thought as he looked at the half-smile creep across Clara’s face.  
“I know,” Goku assured her with a smirk.  “And I’m thankful for that, I am, but I just don’t like how I won’t be able to show her off, let everyone know that I’m proud to be her father, and have to keep her secret from ChiChi and the boys.”  
“You can do those things,” Clara insisted.  “It’s your choice whether you keep her a secret or not – I know I’ll be proud of who her father is.”  
“If they find out, it’ll ruin my marriage and maybe even my relationships with my sons,” Goku noted.  
“If I had a spouse that would have a problem with me doing what was necessary to save the planet, they wouldn’t be my spouse for much longer,” Clara began.  “And if my children were actually a part of me, they’d be understanding.  I don’t see why they would be upset anyways.  It’s not like you’re having an affair with me.  I’m the last full-blooded female Saiyan and you’re the only full-blood male that’s not family.  We aren’t doing this for the fun of it.  We’re doing this to save the planet – including your wife and sons, and we’re also putting a new full-blooded female Saiyan out there who will in turn produce half-breeds.  It’s part of life – it’s procreation – it’s how a species grows, especially one that’s on the brink of extinction.”  
“You’re right,” Goku nodded in agreement.  “But it would take more than one full-blooded female Saiyan to help start restoring a species.”  
“Well then after this one is a couple years old, I’ll have another one,” Clara casually shrugged as she looked back down to the floor.  
“Really?”  Goku asked sounding surprised.  “Just like that?”  
“If it means producing Saiyan warriors and cementing a future for our species, then yes, I’ll do whatever it takes,” Clara said with determination.  
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I can do that cup thing again,” Goku said as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head.  “It was really weird the first time.”  
“Then how about we save that one for another time?”  Clara said in a suggesting tone as she looked at Goku who had his eyes closed and looked like he was trying to keep words from coming out of his mouth.  
 _I can’t take this anymore,_ he thought as he opened his eyes and saw the gorgeous young Saiyan looking at him.  Without warning, he quickly moved towards Clara so that he was mere centimeters from her face.   
“What’re you-,” she began, sounding breathless but was then cut off when he gently put his right hand against her left cheek. With his left hand, he gently moved all of the keepsakes out from in between the two of them, and after all of her valuables were out of the way, he leaned her back onto her back and laid his body on top of her with only about six inches separating the two.   
“I think they can hang on for a few more minutes,” Goku chuckled in her ear as he leaned down to her neck.


	27. Clara Saga - Part 27

**Part 27 - Between a Rock and a Hard Place**

 

**"The ultimate test of a man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice**

**something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not**

**be heard." - Gaylord Nelson**

 

 “Hey, guys!”  Clara yelled as she and Goku walked through the front doors of Capsule Corp and headed towards the living room where Vegeta and his father were lounging on the couch.  “We’re back!”  
“Well, finally,” Vegeta scoffed.  “You’ve been gone for two hours.”  
“Yeah,” Clara chuckled.  “Sorry about that.”  
“So why did you go to your ship?”  King Vegeta asked his daughter.  Clara took the tube of ashes out of her back pocket and held it up for the two sitting Saiyans to see it.  
“Vegeta,” she began quietly, “do you remember when you asked me if I recently had a child because my mid-section was so weak?”  
“Yeah,” Vegeta replied as he thought back to their training session days prior.  
“Well, I did,” Clara said quietly.  “And this is her,” she said as she looked at the tube of ashes.  After she told her father and brother everything that had happened, besides her one on one time with Goku, hatred took over the Saiyan Prince and King.  
“Such a coward,” King Vegeta said through his teeth with anger.  “If I didn’t want to tear his head off before, now I do.”  
“I’ll be the one to rip him into shreds,” Vegeta argued with his fists shaking.  
“Hey,” Goku said, getting Clara’s attention.  “How strong is he?”  The question seemed to spark the other Saiyans’ interest as well.  
“The strongest on the planet,” Clara told him.  “I’m the most skillful weapons user, and I can’t even touch him, nor can anyone else on the planet.”  
“Hmm,” Goku said in thought.  “I’d like to bring Gohan and Goten with us.”  
“And I’ll be bringing Trunks along as well,” Vegeta added.  
“That’s fine with me,” Clara shrugged.  “The more the better.”  
 _Wow,_ Goku thought.  _ChiChi would never just let me take the boys to a battle on a different planet._  
            “Guys!”  Bulma yelled as she came running into the living room looking frantic.  “Turn on the television!  Channel 364!  Now!”  Without question, Vegeta reached over to the remote on the coffee table in front of him and turned to the channel that Bulma had given them.  On the screen was news footage that showed an entire village destroyed and the dead bodies of the civilians lying on the ground.   
“What the…?”  Clara said quietly as she felt her breath leave her body.  After the news footage of the devastated town, a picture showed up – showing the person who had caused all the damage.  Once the picture showed up, the three Saiyans were stunned to see that the picture was of Clara.  
“This is awful,” Goku said quietly, still in shock.  
“Damn the SAS,” Clara said with anger in her voice.  “If they had just left me alone, then I’d still have her contained, and none of this would have ever happened.”  
“It’s not going to do us any good if we sit around and think about what could have been,” King Vegeta began.  “We have to focus on what’s ahead of us.  Once we get her contained again, would we be able to use the dragon balls to bring all of those people back?”  
“Yeah, why not?”  Goku answered with a hopeful voice that brought a small smile on Clara’s face.  “But we can only use them this time next year because Shenron can only grant three wishes per year, and we used the last two to get Clara and her memories back.”  
“So what’re we supposed to do until we can get her contained?”  Clara asked.  “We can’t just let her run amuck, especially if she’s gonna use my face.”  
“We don’t really have much of a choice unless someone here knows a way to kill a Flozoru,” Vegeta chimed in.  “Let her enjoy her freedom while she can.”  
“Gah!  I forgot!”  Goku exclaimed with fear on his face.  “The dragon balls can only bring back people who haven’t died before, and since everyone on Earth died when Majin Buu blew it up, none of those people that Gurki killed can come back!”  
“What?!”  Clara exclaimed.  “So all of those innocent people are just going to stay dead?!”  While the trio of Saiyans struggled with the fact that none of Gurki’s victims could come back to life, King Vegeta had a realization.  
“Kakarot,” he began, getting Goku’s attention.  “You said that Vegeta used Namek’s dragon balls to wish everyone when the Earth was blown up, but some of those people had died before when Vegeta blew up the stadium, right?”  
“That’s right,” Goku nodded.  
“Then Namek’s dragon balls must be able to bring back people no matter how many times they’ve died,” Clara quietly concluded.  
“Yes,” King Vegeta confirmed.  “We’ll go there and use theirs.”  
“We can’t just use their dragon balls,” Goku began to explain.  “None of us speak Namekian, and besides, I’d have to talk to Dende to see if they would let us, but I know he’s probably not going to be happy about you being here,” he said to the Saiyan King.  
“To hell with this “Dende”!”  King Vegeta said angrily.  “I’ll blast his head off!”  
“That’s not something you wanna do,” Vegeta disagreed.  “If he’s dead then the dragon balls here won’t work – he’s a Namekian.”  
“That, and he saved my life when Goku and Vegeta first found me,” Clara added after her brother.  
“Fine,” King scoffed under his breath.  
“Alright then,” Vegeta said, changing the subject.  “First we’ll go to Planet Erebus and take care of King Cretos, then on the way home, we’ll stop at Namek and use their dragon balls.”  
“Ahem,” Clara cleared her throat.  “Aren’t you forgetting a few things?”  
“Hm?”  Vegeta said with a raised eyebrow.  
“Before we use the dragon balls, we have to get her contained otherwise she’ll just kill everyone again,” Clara reminded him.  “Besides, we don’t even know if the Namekians will be alright with us using their dragon balls.”  Without a reply from anyone, Clara, Vegeta, and their father looked at Goku who was still standing on the left side of the couch.  
“Fine,” Goku finally said once he figured out what they wanted.  “I’m going, I’m going,” he said as he put his fingers on his forehead for instant transmission.  
“Kakarot,” King Vegeta said quietly, and he motioned for Goku to come closer to him.  Once he got closer to the Saiyan King, the king motioned for Goku to lower his head down so that he could talk into his ear.  “You tied your belt wrong,” he whispered in Goku’s ear so quietly that the other three couldn’t hear.  Red faced and without a reply, Goku vanished out of the room.  
“What was that about?”  Clara asked once Goku left the room.  
“Nothing,” King Vegeta said as he looked at his daughter with a small smirk.  
            “So how long will it take us to get to Erebus?”  Vegeta questioned, seemingly oblivious to the situation that occurred seconds earlier.  
“It depends,” Clara replied.  “If my ship wasn’t torn apart, we could get there in a few hours.  It would take us a few weeks or months to get there in a normal ship.”  
“Dammit,” Vegeta scoffed.  “You just had to crash, didn’t you?”  
“Hey!”  Clara snapped back angrily.  “It wasn’t my choice to crash!”  
“Shut it,” King Vegeta butted in to stop the sibling quarrel.  “Bulma,” he said as he stood up and walked towards his daughter-in-law.  “Would you be able to repair Clara’s ship?”  
“Huh?”  Bulma said as she tried to find her words.  “Yeah, I don’t see why not.  It might take a little bit though.”  
“How long?”  Clara asked, sounding impatient.  
“Uhh,” Bulma said as she scratched her head.  “A few days, maybe a week or so.”  
“That’s not too bad,” Clara replied.  
“No, it’s not,” King Vegeta agreed.  “So after we get the ship fixed, we’ll go to Erebus and take care of that sorry excuse of a king, and then deal with Gurki.”  
“Hey, guys,” Bulma cut in.  “Why not take care of two birds with one stone?”  
“Huh?  What’re you talking about?”  Clara asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.   
“Well,” Bulma began.  “If a Saiyan’s pregnancy is like an Earthling’s, then it’ll take nine months for the baby to be born.”  
“What’re you getting at, Bulma?”  Vegeta asked with aggravation.  
“With the way things are going now, Gurki could destroy Capsule Corp or even me while you guys are gone,” Bulma explained.  “I don’t think I need to tell you what that would mean.  However, if Clara gets pregnant before you go, then when you come back, it’ll be a waiting game.”  
“That’s not a bad idea,” Clara agreed.  
“Wait,” Vegeta said, sounding shocked.  “You’re really going to go through with this?”  
“Yeah,” she shrugged.  “Why not?  It’ll help save this planet and further the Saiyan race.  Besides, I didn’t get a chance to be a mother to my daughter, and I wanna be able to have that connection with someone.  I don’t really see a downside to it.”  
“Dealing with a baby comes to mind,” Vegeta scoffed as he crossed his arms.  
“What?”  Clara chuckled.  “Are you mad that Goku’s going to be the father, or that you feel like an old uncle already?”  
“Shut up,” Vegeta mumbled under his breath as his face turned red.  Before the conversation could go any further, Goku appeared back in the living room right next to Clara.  
“So?”  She said in anticipation.  
“Dende said that the Namekians will most likely be able to help us,” Goku said as he rubbed the back of his head.  
“But?”  Vegeta added when he could tell that Goku was holding something back.  
“But,” Goku continued.  “We won’t know until we get there and ask them ourselves.”  
“Lovely,” Clara said sarcastically under her breath.  “So we don’t even know if we will be able to bring everyone back.”  
“Hey,” Goku said with the positivity that Clara loved.  “I know the Namekians, and I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to help us.”  
“Well, if you’re one hundred percent sure, then that’s one hurdle cleared,” King Vegeta began.  “Now we just have to get Clara’s ship fixed and Clara has to get pregnant.”  
“Hey, Bulma,” Clara said as she turned to her sister-in-law.  “How long does it take to find out if I’m pregnant?”  
“Hmm,” Bulma said in thought.  “Normally it would take a month or so to show a positive result, but with our technology, I’m sure I could be able to tell you in a few days or a week.”  
“Let’s hold off on doing it how we were going to do it,” Clara suggested.  “At least for a week or so.”  
“What? Why?”  Bulma said with shock.  “Have you changed your mind already?”  
“Huh?  No, of course not,” Clara confirmed as Bulma, Vegeta, and King Vegeta looked at her.  Goku, of course, knew why she wanted to wait.  
“But I may already have the ship done by then,” Bulma informed her.  “And if it’s not done now and Gurki attacks before it is, then there will be no way to contain her.”  
“Okay.  Well then how about we hold off for a week at most,” Clara bargained.  
“Why are you so intent on holding off?”  Vegeta said with a slight trace of annoyance in his voice.  “Weren’t you just going on about how you wanted to be a mother?”  
“Vegeta,” the Saiyan King began quietly.  “Look at his belt.”  Vegeta did as he was told, and when he realized what his father was talking about, his face turned bright red.  
“Kakarot!”  He yelled as Goku and Clara’s face turned red as well.  “What the hell is your problem?!  I agreed that you could get my sister pregnant, not have sex with her!  You could have at least tied your belt back correctly!”  Without uttering a single word, everyone looked at Vegeta and tried to figure out what his logic was behind his statement.  
“Wait,” Bulma butted in.  “Did you two really have sex?”  
“Uhh,” Clara began as she looked down to the floor and scratched her head.  “I guess you could say that.”  
“But, Goku,” Bulma began as she looked at the embarrassed Saiyan, “what about ChiChi?”  
“Yeah,” Goku said with an embarrassed chuckle as he looked down.  “Please don’t say anything to her or the boys.  I haven’t figured out what I’m going to tell them yet.”  
“It’s not my place to get involved,” Bulma replied, sounding disappointed.  “I do think they need to know though.”  
“I know they do,” Goku quietly agreed.  “I’ll tell them when I’m ready.”  
“Is there really a difference though?”  Clara question, sounding a little aggravated.  “The end result is all the same – either way, I’ll get pregnant, and that’s the whole point, is it not?”  
“Are you telling me that you don’t see the problem with having actual physical sex with him?”  Bulma questioned her, looking confused.  
“No, actually,” Clara informed her, “I don’t.  I see it as doing what needs to be done to save the planet and further our race.”  
“If you honestly believed that, then you would have stuck with the plan that we had set,” Bulma argued, sounding a bit angry as she tried to get through to the young Saiyan.   
“I did stick with the plan,” Clara defended herself.  “The plan was for me to get pregnant by him,” she said as she pointed at Goku who had gone completely silent now.  “I just don’t think that the means of conception matter too much when you consider that the end result is the same.”  
“So, you wouldn’t be mad or upset if you found out that your husband had sex with another woman and got her pregnant?”  Bulma asked with a look of skepticism.  
“Would the baby that would be born save the planet?  Would it help further his race?”  Clara fired back with counter-questions.  “Then, no,” she answered.  “If he had to get someone of his own race pregnant in order save billions of lives and further his race, then I would hope he would at least have a fun time doing it.”  
Bulma stared at Clara for a few seconds before finally speaking.  
“Okay,” she said, sounding defeated.  “I give up.  There’s no getting through to you,” she said with an angry chuckle.  “Goku, you don’t have to worry about me telling anyone, but you’d better tell them before the baby is born.  I’ll have the ship ready in a few days,” Bulma said quietly as she walked out of the living and back down into her lab.   
            “Well,” Vegeta finally said with a sigh.  “I’m going to go train,” he said as he turned and walked towards his gravity room.  
“Mind if I join?”  King Vegeta asked as his son kept walking.  
“I don’t care,” Vegeta said quietly with a slight trace of anger in his voice.  Without another word, King Vegeta followed his son and the both of them entered the gravity room.  
            “You’re not gonna go with them?”  Goku asked Clara who was still clearly aggravated at the confrontation with her sister-in-law.  
“No,” she said quietly.  “If I’m pregnant, then I don’t want to put any unnecessary strain on my body.”  
“Yeah, good point,” Goku agreed.  Without saying a word, Clara walked over and sat down on the couch, followed by Goku.  “Something wrong?”  He asked with a little trace of concern in his voice.  
“No,” she chuckled as she looked at her stomach that would eventually become larger as their daughter grew.  “I just remember watching Camilla grow with every passing day, and I don’t know, I’m just excited I guess.”  
“Yeah,” Goku smiled.  “I remember seeing ChiChi get bigger when she was pregnant with Gohan.  She got huge,” he said with a laugh.  
“Yeah, Saiyan women don’t get very big,” Clara told him.  “At nine months, we look how a woman who is four months looks.”  
“Well, I think you’ll look gorgeous either way,” Goku complimented her, effectively making her blush.  Without warning, Goku put his left hand behind her head, pulled her to him, and gave her a kiss, but it was quickly broken when Clara moved away.  
“What’re you doing?”  She asked as she made sure there was no one around to see what had just happened.  
“I can’t kiss you?”  Goku asked with a confused look on his face.  
“You’re married,” she quietly reminded him.  “It doesn’t feel right.”  
“So, I can’t kiss you, but you can carry my daughter?”  Goku questioned with a raised eyebrow.  “Haven’t we already crossed the line?”  
“It’s different,” Clara insisted.  “I’m having our daughter in order to save the planet and revive our race – not because we’re in a relationship and decided to have a baby.”  
“Well,” Goku sighed as he stood up from the couch, “I won’t be married much longer after ChiChi finds out about all this,” he said quietly.  “I’d better get going,” he continued as he looked at the clock in front of him, “It’s almost eight, and ChiChi will yell at me if I’m late for dinner.”  
“Good luck,” Clara said quietly as she looked down to the floor.  
“Gee, thanks,” Goku replied with a tad bit of sarcasm in his voice as he put his fingers to his forehead in order to perform instant transmission.  However, before he left, he made sure to fix his wrongly tied belt, and he also couldn’t help but look at the woman who would be carrying his daughter.

 

  
  
  
**"You can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes." - Lauren Oliver**

 

“Well, it’s about time!”  Goku heard a loud voice yell from the doorway of the front door moments after he popped up on the front lawn.   
“Sorry, ChiChi,” Goku chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head and walked into the house.  “I got a little caught up.”  
“Yeah, I’m sure you did,” ChiChi replied with annoyance in her voice.  “I wish you’d stop trying to help Vegeta and his sister and do some work around here!”  
“Sorry, ChiChi,” Goku apologized.  “They really need my help right now.”  
“I don’t care what they need!”  She exclaimed.  “I need you to help out around here!  You’ve been gone for days!”  
“I know, ChiChi,” Goku replied.  “I’m sorry, but something has come up,” Goku began.  
“Oh?”  She asked in suspicion.  “Something more important than being here with your family?”  
            As Goku began to explain the Flozoru, Gurki, who Clara used to contain, he made sure to keep out their one on one time and what they have to do to contain her.  All he told ChiChi was why Clara came to Earth and that they have to figure out a way to stop Gurki before she blows up the planet.   
“And I’d like to take Gohan and Goten with us when we go to Erebus,” Goku finished.  
“Wow,” ChiChi said with a chuckle with anger behind it.  “You want to go to some planet on the edge of the universe to fight some stupid king and take the boys with you?  Absolutely not, Goku!”  She yelled.  
“But, mom,” Goten said quietly as he peered around the corner into the kitchen.  “I wanna fight the bad guy.”  
“Absolutely not,” ChiChi said to Goten.  “You can’t miss school, otherwise, you’ll end up like your father.  Now, I can’t stop you from taking Gohan, but taking Goten is out of the question,” she said as she turned back to Goku.  
“Fine,” Goku replied, knowing that it was no use to argue with her.   
“Here,” she said as she pointed to the food on the table.  “It’s probably cold now because you’re so late, but there’s your dinner.”  
“Thanks, ChiChi,” Goku said with a smile as he sat down at the table to eat.  
“I have to go get Goten ready for school tomorrow,” ChiChi began as she walked up to Goku.  “I love you,” she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
“I love you too, ChiChi,” he replied quietly as she walked away.  As he sat there and ate slower than usual, he couldn’t help but feel stuck in between a rock and a hard place.  Of course he loved ChiChi, there was no question about that.  However, he found himself constantly thinking back to the two hours on Clara’s ship.   
 _This is ridiculous,_ Goku thought as he thought about how soft Clara’s lips and body felt, how much he smiled and laughed in those two hours – something he hadn’t done in a long time, how beautiful she looked when she smiled, the sound of her laugh, and the gleam in her eyes.  He remembered how he gave her his gi top when she became freezing afterwards and held her in his arms until they decided to go back to Capsule Corp.  _Why?_ Goku asked himself.  _Why does it always have to be -,_ his thinking was interrupted by Gohan entering the room.  
“Hey, dad,” Gohan said as he peered around the corner and looking in the kitchen to see his father barely eating.  
“What is it, Gohan?”  Goku asked quietly as he picked at the cold food on the table.  
“I overheard you talking to mom about the Flozoru thing,” he told him.  
“What about it?  Do you know anything about them?”  Goku asked with genuine curiosity as he turned towards his eldest son.  
“Uh, I do, actually,” Gohan said as he set a textbook down on the table in front of Goku.  
“What’s this?”  Goku asked as he looked at the book and flipped through a couple pages.  The book titled “Phantoms in the Universe” laid on the table in front of Goku and as he began to flip through the pages, Gohan went to the right side of his father, leaned over and opened it up to page 439.  Chapter title: Flozorus.  “There’s a whole section on these things?”  Goku asked as he looked through the multiple pages and finally stopped at page 580.   
“Yeah,” Gohan said.  “They’re pretty complex, but there’s only one way to get rid of them.”  
“How’s that?”  Goku asked as he took another bite of his food even though he already knew the answer.  
“It says right here,” Gohan said as he pointed to a paragraph on page 572, “‘In order to contain a Flozoru, a newborn child must be born of the same sex and one hundred percent of the species that the Flozoru was when it was a living being. The newborn must serve as the host body for a Flozoru.  In order to cement a Flozoru inside a host body, the Flozoru must be tethered to the host’s soul via a blood bond within thirty seconds of being completely born.  In order to create the blood bond, the father of the child must combine his blood, the mother’s blood, the Flozoru’s DNA, and inject it into the newborn’s left chest, two centimeters above the heart via a syringe.’.  So, basically,” Gohan continued.  “Since Clara is a Saiyan female, this Flozoru must have been a Saiyan female at one time, since she left Clara’s body, there has to be a new full blooded female Saiyan born.”  
“I know,” Goku sighed as it was confirmed that there was only one way to save the planet.   
“Huh?”  Gohan said in confusion.  
“Come with me,” Goku said as he put his food down, stood up from the chair, and began to walk towards the front door.  “I need to talk to you about a few things.”  
       


	28. Clara Saga - Part 28

**Part 28 - Earthlings, Saiyans, and Pain**

 

   “So, what do you think?”  Goku asked quietly as he looked at his eldest son who was sitting quietly next to him on top of a mountain a few miles away from their house.  As he looked at Gohan, he could tell that he was obviously upset.  
“I think you cheated on mom,” Gohan finally said in disappointment as he continued to stare down and away from his father.  “How could you do something like that?”  He asked as he shook his head in disbelief.  
“Gohan, if I could take it back, I would,” Goku said with sincerity in voice.  
“Why even do it in the first place?”  Gohan asked, still in his quiet and disappointed tone.  “If you knew that Bulma had a plan – a much better plan – why did you feel the need to actually sleep with her and betray mom’s trust?”  
“I can’t answer that, son,” Goku replied, honestly.  “It wasn’t a _need._ When we were sitting there in her ship, a feeling – like a connection – came over me and made me feel like that was where I was supposed to be and who I was supposed to be there with.”  
“Was it because she’s a Saiyan?”  Gohan suggested in the same quiet tone he’d been talking in the whole time.  
“I don’t know,” Goku mumbled under his breath.  
“You know,” Gohan began in a louder tone, “I’ve always looked up to you.  I always pictured myself being just like you, and I’ve always considered you my best role model, but now,” he scoffed, “now I have to tell you that you’ve let me down.  I would have respected you more, hell, I would’ve even been _happy_ if you and Clara had just used Bulma’s plan.  You’re my father, and I’ll always love you no matter what, but I can’t say that I support you in this.  You crossed a line that disappears once you step over it.  As for telling mom, you don’t have to worry about me spilling your secret – it would only hurt her more if she learned about it from someone besides you, and _I’m_ not going to hurt my mom any more than she’s going to be; however, it’s not really me nor mom you have to worry about – I’m moving out and going off to college in a few months, but Goten is only eight.  What will he think?”  As Gohan finished saying what he had to say, he stood up and started to fly off back in the direction of the small house where Goku lived with his wife and two sons, but before he could take off, he was pulled back when Goku grabbed onto his left arm.  
            “I _will_ tell her, Gohan,” Goku said as he looked his son in the eyes.  “I just have to find a good time and way to tell her.”  
“How about _right now_ and how you just told me?”  Gohan suggested in a slightly annoyed tone.  As Goku let go of his arm, he bolted off back to the house while Goku was left sitting on top of the mountain.  
 _Could it be because we’re both Saiyans?_ He wondered as he looked down at his hands in his crisscrossed legs.  _Or was it just a dumb mistake?  The one thing I do know is that I have to tell Chi Chi – maybe there’s a way we can work it out before it’s too late._

 

**"Hurt leads to bitterness, bitterness to anger, travel too far down that road and the way is lost." - Terry Brooks**

 

 “Wow, that was amazing,” Clara said as she swallowed the last bite of her breakfast and set her fork back down on her plate.  At the table, where she sat with her father, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, there were mountains of food – every kind of meats, vegetables, and breakfast foods known to man.   
“I think I should get a bigger table,” Bulma chuckled as the three full blooded Saiyans and her hybrid son ate.  “I thought it was hard to feed two Saiyans, and now all of a sudden, I’m feeding four.”  
“Five,” Clara quickly corrected her as she took a sip of her juice.  
“Right,” Bulma agreed.  “We need to do the blood test today,” she added.  It was easy to tell that there was still tension between Bulma and Clara and Bulma and Vegeta, and instead of replying to her sister-in-law, Clara excused herself to her brother, father, and nephew and headed back up towards her room.  Soon after, a similar reaction came from Vegeta as he stood up and walked away and walked towards his gravity room.  
            “Well, bye mom!  Bye grandpa!”  Trunks exclaimed as he stood up from the table and ran towards the front door – grabbing his backpack that was hanging on the rack before heading out.   
“Bye, son,” Bulma replied quietly as she watched him run out of the door and head outside.   
“And then there were two,” King Vegeta said, breaking the silence that had come once Vegeta, Clara, and Trunks had left.   
“They’re never going to forgive me, are they?”  Bulma asked quietly as she went back to picking at her food.  
“Hm?”  King Vegeta replied with a raised eyebrow, clearly caught off guard by the question from his daughter-in-law.  
“Vegeta and Clara,” Bulma specified.  “They’re never going to forgive me.”  
The Saiyan King let out a sigh, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.  “Listen to me,” he began, resulting in Bulma making eye contact with him.  “What you were doing was wrong, I won’t deny that, and I’m not going to sit here and tell you that they’ll get over it because the truth is I don’t know if they will.  I don’t know my daughter well enough to be able to say if she’ll forgive you, but it might make you feel better to know that she still hasn’t forgiven me for sending her away, at least, she’s never said it aloud.  My son, on the other hand, has unfortunately grown into the man that I was, so with him, I know that if you give him time and space he’ll get over it.”  
“Unfortunately?”  Bulma questioned as she looked at her father-in-law.  
“I never wanted him to turn out like he did – what with his attitude and all,” King Vegeta confessed as he shook his head.  “I’ve been trying to beat it out of him.”  
“So then why did he?”  Bulma asked curiously.  “Why did he turn out like he is?”  
“Pain changes people,” The king answered with a slight scoff.  “Pain can either turn you into the best person with love and compassion in your heart, or it can turn you cold and bitter – my son and I turned out the latter.”  
“Pain?”  Bulma said with skepticism.  “Vegeta told me how you were the king of every single Saiyan.  He told me how ruthless you were and how you destroyed entire planets.  If you ask me, that doesn’t seem like pain caused to you – it seems like you caused all the pain.”  
King Vegeta let out a slight chuckle.  “Remember that cold and bitter thing?”  He reminded her.  “You also can’t rely on the words of someone who didn’t know everything that was going on at that time.”  
“So what was?”  Bulma wanted to know.  
“Frieza,” the Saiyan King answered with anger in his voice.  “Because of Frieza, I was forced to send one of my heirs away.  He abused the Saiyans’ strength for his own benefit.  He forced me to submit to him with threats of blowing up the planet and killing my son.  He ruined my chance to get my daughter back while she was still an infant.  Because of him, I was a king with no power, a leaded leader, and a father without one of his children, or technically three, I guess.  And if you put someone through all that, they’re going to turn out one of two ways, and I turned out the bitter way.  I became cold and ruthless – I didn’t care who I hurt.  I wanted others to feel pain just as I felt, and at the time, I didn’t notice that my attitude was rubbing off on my son.”  
“Three?”  Bulma asked with confusion.  
“Yes,” King Vegeta confirmed.  “Clara, he took Vegeta when Vegeta was five, and then I sent Tarble away, which was Frieza’s fault by extension.”  
“Tarble?”  Bulma said as she raised her eyebrow.  
“While Frieza was having his way with the Saiyans, I decided that having sex with random women, training, and destroying random planets was more important than trying to find a way to defeat Frieza, and one day, I accidently got another Saiyan woman pregnant, and she had our son – Tarble.  A week after he was born, I sent him and his mother away in more of a sarcastic motion – kind of like a, ‘hey, Frieza’s gonna make me get rid of this one, so why not go ahead and do it?’ kinda thing, and now that I look back on everything I did and the person I became, I realize that I became the monster that he was trying to turn me into and the one I’m sure he tried to turn Vegeta into.  It wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the source of his anger.”  
“So, you’re saying that the Saiyans were…good?”  Bulma asked wide-eyed in disbelief.  
“No,” King Vegeta replied with a smirk and a chuckle.  “Far from it.  Before Frieza, the Saiyans would travel to planets that were known to have invaders often, or we would wait until someone from a planet came to us.  We would make deals with them in exchange for things that we felt were valuable.  If we didn’t think that a planet had anything of value, then we would destroy it – plain and simple.  However, for planets that had valuable things to trade in exchange for our protection, we would make the deal with them under certain guidelines, and if any one of those guidelines was broken, their planet would be destroyed.  You’d be amazed if you knew just how many planets violated their agreement with us.”  
“Why would they destroy the planets?”  Bulma asked.  “Why not just leave them be?”  
“Because,” King Vegeta began to explain, “without our protection, their planets would have been destroyed anyways, and it was made clear that if an agreement was violated that it would cause the planet’s destruction, and the Saiyans knew that they had to keep their ruthless reputation and the pride that came along with deciding who lived and who died.  That is, until Frieza came along and had us destroying planets – most of the time for no reason, and eventually, I started to enjoy what I was doing.”  
“So, kinda like the mafia,” Bulma suggested.  “Just with space, aliens, and much harsher consequences.”  
“Yeah, I guess,” King Vegeta shrugged, “whatever that is.”  
“But you don’t seem like you’re like that anymore,” Bulma pointed out.  
“I try not to be,” the king admitted.  “When I woke up on Planet Nioria, I knew I had a fresh start, when I saw Kakarot and Vegeta standing in front of me, I knew Frieza had been killed, and now I know that my children are alive and well – including Tarble.  There’s really no reason to hold onto bitterness anymore, but anger?  Right now, I am angry.  My daughter had her heir brutally killed for no reason whatsoever, and I can’t wait until I get my hands on that so called “king”.”  
            “Ok,” Clara said as she walked into the kitchen and interrupted Bulma and her father.  “Let’s get this blood test over with.”  
“Right,” Bulma nodded as she stood up and walked towards her sister-in-law who had already begun walking towards the lab.  “Hey,” she said as she caught up to Clara and grabbed her left shoulder – effectively making her turn around.   
“What,” Clara replied in an annoyed and slightly angry tone.  
“What do I have to do to get you to forgive me?”  Bulma inquired.  “I don’t understand why you’re still so mad at me – you’re even madder than Vegeta is.  I gave all the money back, and I got rid of both DNA samples.”  
“You don’t get it, do you?”  Clara replied in disbelief and a scoff.  “He’s hurting, Bulma,” she began with aggravation in her voice.  “He’ll never tell you, but you hurt him.  See, twins have a bond that no one else can feel or understand.  When he’s hurt, I’m hurt.  When he’s happy, I’m happy.  When he’s mad, I’m mad, and when he’s proud, I’m proud, but right now, at this very moment, he’s hurt.”  
“I don’t know why you seem to think that you know everything about him,” Bulma said with offense in her voice.  “You just met him not too long ago.”  
“We shared a womb.  We’re two halves of the same egg,” Clara reminded her.  “If that’s not being close with someone, then I don’t know what is.  And as for not knowing him for long, you’re right – I haven’t, but it’s the equivalent of two magnets that were separated but then suddenly put in the same proximity of each other – they click together, and once they’re stuck together, it takes a lot to pry them apart.  So, if you want to know what my brother is feeling, just remember that he won’t tell you, but I’m not afraid to act it out for you.”  
“Let’s just get this blood test done,” Bulma said quietly, sounding defeated as she walked past Clara and into her lab.  After entering the lab, Clara lied down on the medical table, and Bulma pulled up her rolling stool and her medical equipment.  “You’re not afraid of needles are you?”  Bulma said, half joking as she seemed to be trying to get the female Saiyan to lighten up while she prepared one of her needles.  
“No,” Clara replied bluntly as she glared up at the ceiling.  
“Goku’s petrified,” Bulma said with a chuckle.  “You should see the look on his face when he’s around one – it’s hilarious.  This one time when we were on Namek, he-,”  
“That’s nice,” Clara said in an uninterested tone – interrupting her sister-in-law.  Without reply, and a few seconds later, Bulma pushed the syringe into Clara’s vein in her left arm near her elbow, and the clear part of the syringe began to fill with the red Saiyan blood.   
“There you go,” Bulma said as she set the full syringe down on her table and taped a piece of gauge on the injection site.   
“Have you figured out a way to fix my ship yet?”  Clara said in almost a demanding tone as she sat up from the table.   
“Uh, no,” Bulma informed her.  “Not yet.  I’m still trying to make sense of the schematics.”  
“Maybe it would be best if we rearranged our plan,” Clara said quietly to herself yet loud enough for Bulma to hear.    
“Huh?  What do you mean?”  Bulma asked her in confusion.  
“Just run that as fast as you can, and let me know the results as soon as you get them,” Clara ordered Bulma, “please,” she added quietly as she turned towards the door and headed back out into the hallway.  _I need to talk to the other three,_ she thought as she walked back towards where her father was sitting.  
            “WHERE IS SHE?!”  A woman’s voice yelled from the front of the large house clearly angry and caught Clara by surprise.  
 _Oh, no,_ Clara thought as she stopped in her tracks and heard the yelling and stomping.  _Don’t tell me he told her already._  
“There you are!”  The woman yelled as she faced Clara in the hallway.  Her face was bright red and her eyes shot a hole through Clara’s body as Goku stood behind her and tried to pull her back.  
“Chi Chi, please,” Goku begged as he tried to hold back the woman storming for Clara.  “Let’s just go home and work this out.”  
“No, Goku!”  She yelled as she snatched her arm away from him and turned around to face him.  “It’s too late for that!”  Chi Chi yelled as she turned back around and looked at Clara.  “I will deal with her, and you can just go home and get your stuff!”  
“Who?  Me?”  Clara asked sarcastically.  “You’re gonna deal with _me?_ ”  
“Yes, you, Mrs. Smart Mouth,” Chi Chi said through her clenched teeth as she moved towards Clara who was standing with her arms crossed in the hallway only a few feet away from the lab door.  
“And how are you gonna do that?”  She questioned as she tilted her head to the right.  
“With my fists,” Chi Chi replied angrily as she balled up her hands into tight fists.  “How could you?”  Chi Chi began to question Clara as she got closer to her.  “How could you, homewrecker, just swoop in and steal my husband away from me?”  
“Excuse me?”  Clara questioned with a scoff.   
“Don’t stand there and pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Chi Chi demanded.  “Goku told me everything that happened.”  
“Well, then, I assume that he told you _why_ it happened as well,” Clara stated as she watched Chi Chi get closer and closer to her.   
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter why,” she replied.  “What matters is that you destroyed my family!”  Once she finally reached Clara, she quickly swung a left hook towards the right side of Clara’s head, but before it connected, Chi Chi’s arm was grabbed and stopped when it was only centimeters away from Clara’s head.  
            “You will NOT lay a finger on my daughter, Earthling,” King Vegeta said harshly as he glared down at Goku’s angry wife.  “Understand?”  
“Father, I can handle her,” Clara replied, sounding somewhat offended.  
“I never suggested that you couldn’t, Clara,” he replied as he continued to hold Chi Chi’s wrist and glare at her.  “I won’t tolerate blatant disrespect to any royal family member.”  
“And I won’t tolerate a home wrecking whore!”  Chi Chi snapped back at King Vegeta.  In a rage, the king grabbed Chi Chi’s wrist even tighter and began to put pressure on one of the many pressure points.  As she struggled to get her wrist away from him, he tightened his grip with every movement.  “Why don’t you call for your beloved husband?”  King Vegeta asked with aggravation.  
“No,” she replied as she continued to try to get free from him.  “I don’t want any help from him.”  
“What the hell is going on out here?!”  Vegeta yelled as he came running out of his gravity room due to all of the commotion.  “You’re making it impossible to train!”  As he looked at the four people standing out in the hallway, he realized what had happened.  “So, you finally told her, huh?”  Vegeta said as he looked at the clearly unhappy Goku.  
“You will NOT disrespect any of my children, or anyone who is a part of the royal family for that matter,” the king continued.  “Learn your place, Earthling.  Your husband is a Saiyan, and I’m the king; therefore, he must follow my orders, no matter what they may be and without question.  Your husband and my daughter are doing what they have to so that your precious Earth will be saved, and you and your children will live.  She didn’t ruin your family; you did by kicking Kakarot out when he was only following orders.”  
“If he was really following your orders, then he would have done it the way Bulma created, which wouldn’t have been as bad as having flat out sex, but it would have still been unacceptable,” Chi Chi pointed out as she glared at the king.  
“It’s the end result that matters,” King Vegeta insisted.  “It’s all the same – it’s just a different method.  I see now,” he continued.  “I see the difference between Earthling women and Saiyan women,” he chuckled.  
“A woman is a woman no matter which way you look at it,” Chi Chi replied.  
“You’re wrong, Earthling,” King Vegeta rebutted.  “Earthling women lack pride.  A Saiyan woman would never act like this when her husband was only following my orders as well as saving the planet that she and her children reside on – stupid, foolish emotions.  Everything is just so personal to you, isn’t it?  I now see why Saiyans weren’t supposed to mix with other species.”  
 _Who the hell is this guy?_ Clara wondered as she watched how her father acted towards Chi Chi and how he was talking to her.  _This isn’t my father – at least not the one I know._  
 _And there he is,_ Vegeta thought as he watched the situation unfold in front of him.  _Finally – the king has come out of hiding._  
            “Guys,” Bulma interrupted as she stepped out of the lab and into the hallway that had been turned into a fight zone.  “I’m finished running the blood test.”  
“And?”  Clara asked nonchalantly as she turned around to look at her.  
“You have to come see for yourself,” Bulma informed her.  
“We’ll be there in a second,” King Vegeta quickly replied to his daughter-in-law.  “What to do with you,” he pondered as he looked at Chi Chi who was still trying to get her hand free.  
            “Just leave her alone,” Goku ordered.  “Just leave her out of this.”  
“Then come make me,” King Vegeta provoked Goku.  
“No,” Goku replied quietly as he shook his head as he stared to the floor.  
“No?  Why not?”  The king questioned as he looked towards Goku.  “We all know that you could if you wanted to.”  
“Because,” Goku explained.  “I know I could kill you with one hit, and that’s not what I want to do.”  
“So what if you do?”  The Saiyan King continued to bait Goku.  “So what if you kill me?  Your wife will be free.”  
“If I killed you, then Vegeta, Clara and you would never forgive me!”  Goku said loudly as if it had burst through his lips without his approval.  
“You could use your precious dragon balls to bring me back, couldn’t you?”  He asked with a cocky smirk on his face.  
“That’s not the point,” Goku answered quietly once he realized what was happening.  “It’s the whole principle of it.”  
“Well then,” King Vegeta began as he turned his attention back to Chi Chi.  “We know what his feelings are and where his loyalties lie.  Now, is this absurd temper tantrum over?”  
“Yes,” Chi Chi replied quietly.  “And so is this marriage,” she said with anger still in her voice as she looked at Goku.  
“Then go,” King Vegeta said sternly as let go of her and allowed her to move.  “And don’t you ever raise your hand to my daughter again.”  Without saying another word, Chi Chi walked down the hallway, out of the archway and back towards the front doors of Capsule Corp.  
“Hmph,” Clara scoffed as she turned around and headed for the lab where Bulma was waiting.  “I could have handled her without any effort; I didn’t need your help.”  
“I never said you did,” King Vegeta replied as watched his daughter.  “Why should you be able to keep your pride, but I shouldn’t be able to keep mine?”  
“Whatever,” she replied with annoyance as she walked through the doors of the lab.  
“So what do ya have?”  Clara asked in an uninterested and annoyed tone as she walked through the doors of the lab that she was in earlier and saw Bulma sitting at a desk with a folder filled with paper and a pen in her right hand.  
“Oh, finally,” Bulma said in almost a relieved tone as she looked up to see the young Saiyan standing by the door with her arms crossed.  “Come over here.”  
Clara walked over to the desk that sat up against the wall and once she was on the left side of Bulma, she crossed her arms and leaned onto the desk to see what she was looking at.   
“So what’s so important that I had to look at?”  Clara questioned as she tried to make sense of the papers in the folders.  
“This,” Bulma replied as she took out a single sheet of paper and placed it in front of Clara.  “It’s your results,” she said quietly.  As Clara sat up and looked at the paper in her hands, she immediately felt rage begin to boil inside of her – almost instantly to the boiling point.  _You have got to be kidding me,_ she thought as tears began to fill in her eyes while she kept reading the paper.  _You can’t be serious.  Earthlings…this is because of the Earthlings._ In a fit of anger, she crumbled up and threw the paper on the floor, busted down the lab door, stormed out of the Capsule Corp house, and walked outside.  _Earthlings,_ she thought to herself as the automatic doors closed behind her.  “They must perish,” she said to herself as she walked towards the sidewalk that led into the busy city.


	29. Clara Saga - Part 29

**Part 29 - Revenge**

    “Tell me,” Clara demanded with anger and seriousness in her voice.  “Where are you from?”  She asked an elderly woman who she had down on her knees with a kunai knife on the side of her neck.   
“Miss,” the woman began to nervously plead as tears filled her eyes, “please just let me go.  I promise I won’t tell anyone.”  
“Answer me!”  Clara yelled as she pushed the knife closer to the woman’s left carotid artery.  
“I-I-I was born in-in South City,” the woman finally answered with fear in her voice.  
“Just as I thought,” Clara scoffed.  “Just another Earthling.”  After getting the answer that she had pushed for, she took the kunai knife and effectively killed the woman who had pleaded for her life.  “And that makes ninety,” Clara said to herself as she looked around and saw the bodies of the people she had mercilessly killed in the past hour.  “Only seven billion left.”

 

**"Revenge is a confession of pain." - Latin proverb**

 

  
        Only a few miles away in the Capsule Corp house living room, the large screen television showed horrific images of the destruction that had been caused by the rampaging Saiyan.  
            “This is terrible,” Bulma said in disbelief as she, Goku, Vegeta, and the Saiyan King looked at the images that flashed back and forth on the screen.   
“I’m now receiving word that all the schools in West City have been shut down until this horrible situation comes to an end,” the news anchor said as the images kept going.  
 _Clara,_ Goku thought as he looked at the pictures in shock.  _What happened to you?_  
“I can’t believe this,” Bulma said as her eyes began to fill with tears.  “How could she do something like this?”  
“I don’t know,” Vegeta answered quietly as he struggled to keep his heavy chest breathing.  “She’s not mad or in pain of any kind, she’s just emotionless.”   
“Why would she being doing this?”  Goku angrily questioned.  “Someone did something to her.  This isn’t her.”  
“It’s like something snapped in her,” King Vegeta pointed out.  “She was just fine an hour and a half ago.”  
“She got angry and stormed out after she looked at this,” Bulma informed them as she held the crumbled and torn up paper in her hands.  “My guess is something on here made her snap.”  
“But to this degree?”  Vegeta questioned with suspicion.  “What does it say, Bulma?”  
“I’m not sure,” Bulma admitted.  “I didn’t read it before she did because I didn’t want to invade her privacy.”  
“So print off another one,” King Vegeta demanded through his teeth.  
“I can’t,” Bulma quietly confessed.  “When she busted down the door to the lab she destroyed the cables that connected to the computers – my computers are completely shot.”  
“Just great,” Vegeta scoffed.  “So, something on that paper made her snap, but we don’t know what it is and have no way of figuring it out.  If that paper was just her results, then it must have been a negative result.”  
“Why would having a negative result make her start killing people?”  Goku questioned.  “If it was just a negative result, then she should’ve known that we would try again.”  
“Perhaps she thinks that you wanna work things out with Chi Chi and aren’t going to try again, so she’s decided to kill everyone on the planet so that Gurki doesn’t have the satisfaction,” Bulma speculated.  
“None of that’s true,” Goku quickly replied.  
“Clara doesn’t have a murderous bone in her body,” Vegeta pointed out.  “The only time she’s ever been somewhat murderous was when she accidently tapped into Gurki’s power and transformed.”  
“Well, she doesn’t know any energy blasts, so she can’t possibly cause too much irreversible damage,” King Vegeta pointed out.  
“That’s not exactly true,” Goku regrettably countered.  “The Sroids trained her in weapons – she’s a weapon’s master, so anything she picks up can be used as a weapon, and clearly, she’s quick with them and has excellent aim.”  
“Dammit,” Vegeta scoffed as he watched the death toll rise from ninety to one hundred and fifty.  “Doesn’t she realize that there are worse things going on right now?”  
“I don’t think she cares,” King Vegeta replied.  “We need to stop her.”  
“Wait, but guys,” Bulma interrupted.  “What about the hundred and fifty…sixty people that’s she’s killed?!  They all already died once when Majin Buu blew the Earth up!  Shenron can’t bring them back again!”  
“But Porunga can,” Goku countered.  The three Saiyans quickly made their way to the front doors of Capsule Corp and as they stepped outside, they realized that they were unable to sense Clara’s energy.  _Come on, Clara,_ Goku thought as he tried as hard as he could to find.  _Where are you?  Please, show me where you are – the real you._  
            “It’s pointless,” King Vegeta stated as his son and Goku were trying to find the young Saiyan.  “She and Vegeta have fifty percent of the same genetic makeup; therefore, their energy is almost exactly the same.  Since Vegeta’s right here, you’re probably picking up Vegeta’s energy,” he said to Goku, “and you’re probably picking up your own,” he said as he looked towards Vegeta.  
“What?!”  Vegeta said taken back.  “Then how the hell did we find her before?”  
“Gurki,” King Vegeta said bluntly.  “She copied and amplified Clara’s energy so that we would be drawn to it, and it overshadowed yours, and Kakarot already knew that Clara was on King Kai’s planet before, so he knew exactly where to look, but right now, none of us know exactly where she is, so we have no way of knowing which way to look.”  
“Come on, Kakarot!  Find her!”  Vegeta yelled as he looked towards Goku who was still trying to find the destructive Saiyan.  
 _Please,_ Goku begged as he continued to look for Clara’s energy.  _Please, show me where you are.  Let us help you._   Suddenly, out of nowhere as if it were a response to Goku’s pleads, a sudden spike in energy hit him like a freight train.  _Wait, no way,_ he thought in disbelief.  _Is that…?_ “Grab hold!”  He yelled as he held his left hand out to Vegeta and his father.  “I found her!”  Without hesitation, Vegeta and his father grabbed onto each of Goku’s shoulders and suddenly, the trio appeared in front of the massacring Clara.  
The air that surrounded the street where the four of them stood was tainted with the smell of blood, and the silence of the slaughtered city was enough to hear a pin drop.  
            “Well, well,” Clara began with an uninterested tone.  “If it isn’t The Three Musketeers.”  
“What are you doing?”  Vegeta demanded to know.  “What’s gotten into you?”  
Clara chuckled.  “Oh, brother,” she began with a smirk.  “I’m only doing what needs to be done.”  
“And that means killing all these innocent people?!”  Goku yelled at her.  “This isn’t you,” he insisted.  “The Clara I know would never have done something like this.”  
“Innocent?”  She scoffed.  “How can you say that these people are _innocent_?!  You have _no idea_ what these pathetic Earthlings have put me through and what they’ve taken from me!”  She yelled in rebuttal at Goku.  “And the only _me_ you know is the me with no memories and the _me_ between my legs.”  
“Cut the crap!”  King Vegeta yelled at his daughter causing her to shoot a short smirk at him.  “There are more important things to worry about,” he reminded her.  “We need you in order to stop Gurki, don’t you remember?”  
“Why should I?”  Clara said as she crossed her arms, shrugged, and glared at her father.  “I say let her blow up this miserable planet and its people – less work for me.”  
“You can’t be serious,” Goku replied.  “This isn’t you,” he tried to get her to believe.   
“Are you deaf or something?”  Clara replied with a sarcastic confused look on her face.  “I’ve already told you, you don’t know me.”  
“Why are you doing this?”  Vegeta questioned his little sister.  “What happened to make you snap?”  
“Wouldn’t you love to know,” she said as she glared at her brother with harsh eyes.  “You would never be able to understand if I told you.”  
“It had something to do with what was on that paper,” King Vegeta added.  “Thanks to your little overreaction, you broke Bulma’s computers, so now we aren’t able to print another one off.”  
“Exactly,” Clara said with a sadistic smirk.  “Now you know how it feels.  Now you know what it feels like to not know – what it feels like to be in the dark – to be driven crazy from trying to figure out the truth.”  
“You’ve been planning this the whole time,” Goku said quietly in realization.  
“No,” Clara denied, “as a matter of fact, I haven’t,” she answered.  “I was tortured twice by a sadistic group of Earthlings – killed the second time by the same man who saved me.  Both times, I tried to remain hopeful and believe that there was good in the human species, but both times, I was let down.  When Gurki escaped my body and it was discovered that a new female Saiyan had to be born to contain her, I was nervous at first, but then when I got my memories back and I remembered what happened with my little girl, I felt excited and ready to have another.  Sure, you can say that it sounds like I’m replacing Camilla, but no one can replace her.  At first, I agreed because I believed that there was good in the people of Earth, so I was gonna do anything to help save them, and I learned about the pride of the Saiyans from my brother, so it only made sense to help restore our dying race.  But then, when I saw what the results of my blood test said, every ounce of hope I had for the human species died in an instant.  Doctor Uling and his little friends ruined this planet’s chance of salvation, so I might as well go ahead and destroy it before Gurki gets to it.  It’s the least I can do.”  
“What’re you talking about?”  Vegeta demanded to know, but instead of an answer, he was met with silence from his sister.  
“Clara, answer him!”  The Saiyan King added on.  
“Thanks to their little drug, The Fox, that they injected me with, they effectively killed all of my eggs – making it impossible for me to ever have another child,” Clara explained angrily as tears filled her eyes.  “The Earthlings doomed their own planet!  They’ve torn my life apart!  So now, it’s time for my revenge.  It’s time I get my retribution from all the unnecessary torture they put me through and all the pain I will go through for the rest of my life.”  
            “You’re wrong,” Goku quietly butted in.  “You are so wrong.”  
“I read the test results, not you,” Clara snapped at him.  
“I trust what I feel over words on a piece of paper,” Goku said as anger began to rise in his voice.  “How do you think I found you?”  He asked as he glared at Clara.  
Clara shrugged.  “I don’t know,” she said, “humor me.”  
“Finding your energy was nearly impossible because it’s almost identical to Vegeta’s, but as I searched harder, I felt my energy and your energy together far away from where we were,” Goku began.  “They didn’t kill all of them, Clara, at least one survived, and it’s growing inside you.  Our child led me to you.”  
At the sound of the statement, Clara felt the breath get knocked out of her, and her thoughts began racing as she struggled to form a complete sentence.   
“Our-,” she began quietly as she looked at the father of her child standing in front of her.  
“Yes,” he interrupted her.  
“That does make sense,” King Vegeta butted in.  “It’s been what?  Two weeks since you two-.”  
“Yes,” Goku interrupted as he stared at the woman carrying his unborn child.  “Please, Clara,” he pleaded as he walked towards her, “just come with us.  We can fix all of this.”  
“Listen to him,” Vegeta said sternly as he got into his fighting position.  
“Don’t even think about it,” Goku said sternly as he shot a glare to his friend.  “If you lay a finger on her, I’ll never forgive you.  She’s carrying my child – don’t forget that.”  
            “They’ve taken so much from me that I never had the chance to have and will never have the chance to have,” Clara said quietly as Goku reached her.  
“I know they have,” he said as he pushed her hair behind her left ear and touched her face, “but I’m right here,” he continued, “and so is the rest of your family.”  
“I know,” she quietly replied as Goku gently put his forehead to her’s.  “But we’ll never be able to have another,” she reminded him.  
“You shouldn’t say ‘never’,” he began, “we can always ask Shenron to undo what that drug did to you or maybe Bulma could come up with something.”  
“If Shenron could undo the effects of the drug, then my memories would have come back when you wished me back to life,” she replied quietly.  
“That might be true,” Goku replied softly, “but we managed to make the full blooded female that the Earth needed and that our species needed before it was too late,” he reminded her.  “And that we both wanted,” he added.  “So please, put a stop to all of this,” he pleaded with her.  
“I’m sorry,” she began to reply with tears filling her eyes.  
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” he assured her as he placed his lips on her forehead and closed his eyes.  “We can bring all of these people -,” he began before being cut off by surprise.   
“But I can’t,” Clara finished her sentence – seeming to have ignored what Goku was saying.  As Goku looked down, he noticed a kunai had been shoved into the left side of his stomach – going in completely with only the tip of the handle showing.  “The Earthlings must still pay for all of the pain they inflicted upon me,” she said in his ear as his body went limp and Vegeta and the king watched on in surprise and horror, “and as soon as this child is born, Gurki will inhabit her body freely, and once she gets old enough, she’ll be the death of this pathetic world as well as Planet Erebus to avenge her fallen half-sister.  She will become a _true_ Saiyan – the strongest one known to man.”  
“Clara,” Goku managed to mumble.  
“Nuh uh,” she said as she held his dangling head to her chest and ran her fingers through his hair, “don’t speak.  Just listen,” she continued.  “And to think – I was beginning to fall for you, but now I realize that you’re just as bad as the Earthlings.  Even after all of the torture you know that I went through – that you _saved_ me from, you’re still on their side – even going as far to suggest that an Earthling woman could help me,” she scoffed.  “I thought I would give you the benefit of the doubt and see if you would join your unborn daughter and me, but I see now that I was wrong about you.  What a disappointment,” she finished as she stepped away and let Goku drop to the ground face first.  After shooting a wink to her brother and father, and before vanishing into midair, she said, “One hundred and sixty-one,” with a sadistic smile on her face.  
            “Kakarot!”  Vegeta yelled as he and his father ran over to the badly bleeding Goku.  “Come on, stay awake!”  
“I swear I’m gonna beat some sense-,” King Vegeta began before interrupting himself. “Dammit!”  He yelled once he realized that he couldn’t do anything to his pregnant daughter.  
“We have nine months to get her back,” Vegeta said as he picked up Goku and threw him over his shoulder.   
“In the meantime, who knows how many people she could kill,” The Saiyan King added on, and he and his son, who had Goku over his shoulder, took to the sky.  “We should keep tabs on her.”  
“And how exactly do you propose we do that?!”  Vegeta yelled over to his father.  “Kakarot had to sense their unborn child in order to find her, and you’ve seen what she’ll do to anyone who goes against her – she stabbed the father of her child in the gut without a second thought, and it’s not as though we can kill her – her child is Gurki’s future home.”  
Five minutes after leaving the scene of Clara’s destruction, Vegeta, his father, and the dying Goku landed back in front of Capsule Corp.  Upon entering the giant living room, Vegeta laid the blood covered Goku on the couch and sent his father to get the Senzu Beans that Goku had given him a few days earlier in case of emergencies if Korin ran out again.  
            “Father,” Vegeta began, “Second floor, fourth door on the right.  Go in there and grab the brown bag on the dresser,” he ordered.  Without argument or hesitation, King Vegeta darted up to the second floor and then found himself standing outside of his son and daughter-in-law’s room.  When he opened the door and stepped foot into the large, double master sized room, he saw his son’s wife sitting on the bed with her back towards the door, her head hung down, and the sound of sniffling coming from her direction.   
            “What’s wrong?”  He asked as he quietly closed the door behind him.  
“This is all my fault,” Bulma quietly replied as she continued to look down and shake her head.  “All those people – they’re dead because of me.”  
King Vegeta slowly made his way over to the bed and once he was there, he stood in front of Bulma who had a piece of paper sitting in her lap.  “What are you going on about?”  He asked as he watched a tear from her eye drop onto the paper.  
“This,” she answered as she handed the piece of paper to the Saiyan King.  “This is why she got so upset.”  
 _Test results,_ King Vegeta read to himself.  _Pregnancy test results: Negative.  Fertility results: Negative.  Chance of pregnancy: 0%_.  “What of it?”  the king asked.  “Clara told us that this is what set her off.”  
“Keep reading it,” Bulma said quietly and emotionless – still looking down into her now empty lap.  Doing what she said, the curious Saiyan attempted to make sense of the graphs and charts all over the paper, but found himself unable to draw any conclusions.   
“Would you just come out with it?!”  He demanded, beginning to sound aggravated.  
“Look at the top right corner,” Bulma instructed him as she sniffled.  Suspiciously, he looked at the right top corner, and once he read what was written in small ink, he grabbed Bulma by her right wrist, pulled her off of the bed, dragged her over to the dresser to grab the brown bag, and ran back down the stairs to the living room with the paper, brown bag with Senzu Beans in it, and Bulma.   
“Here,” King Vegeta said to his son as he handed him a Senzu Bean to give to Goku.   
“Come on, Kakarot,” Vegeta said as he tried to get Goku to stay in enough consciousness to eat the bean.  After he finally got the bean down, Vegeta turned to his father who was still gripping Bulma by her wrist.  “What’s going on?”  He asked as he saw the depressed look of his wife and the angry look of his father.   
            “We have to stop her,” Goku said quietly as he opened his eyes back up.  “We can’t let her keep doing this.”  As he sat back up, he examined the situation that was unfolding inches away from him.  “Hey guys,” he said, suddenly being pulled back into complete consciousness, “what’s going on?”  He asked as he saw the tension between the other three.  
            “Tell us what’s going on,” King Vegeta demanded as he set the paper down on the coffee table and let go of Bulma’s wrist.  “Now.”  
“It was an accident,” Bulma began.  “This time, it was an actual accident.”  
“What was?”  Vegeta questioned as he looked at the paper on the table.  “Aren’t these Clara’s results?”  
“Yeah,” Goku quietly agreed.  “That’s what she told us they said.”  
“No,” Bulma quietly countered, instigating looks of confusion on Goku and Vegeta’s face.  
“Read the top right corner,” King Vegeta ordered the two Saiyans.  Without question, they both looked at the writing in the corner and looks of disbelief mixed with anger came across their faces.  
“Are you serious?!”  Vegeta yelled with his voice filled with anger.  “Please, tell me this is a joke!”  
“Bulma,” Goku said quietly.  “How could you mess this up?”  
“It was an accident!”  Bulma tearfully defended herself.  “I didn’t know until a few minutes ago – right before you three got back!  When you guys left, I remembered that I had set every file on my computers to automatically back themselves up on my flash drive.  I took my flash drive and used a computer from one of the other labs and printed off the file that I had printed off for Clara – the one right there.  When I read it over, I realized the mistake that I had made.  When I tested Clara, I decided to test myself, and I guess that I was so tired that I mislabeled the folders – labeling my results as Clara’s and Clara’s results as mine, so when I went to open the folder labeled “Clara’s Results”, my results were actually in it, so in the end, I printed of my results and gave them to Clara.”  
“So, then what were Clara’s _actual_ results?”  Goku questioned quietly.  
“These are her results,” Bulma said as she took out a folded up piece of paper from her back pocket and handed it to Goku.  When he opened it, he read the results out loud.  
“Pregnancy test results: Positive.  Fertility results: Positive.  Chance of pregnancy: 99.9%,” he said.  “She’s perfectly fine,” he deduced.   
“I’m so sorry, you guys,” Bulma said tearfully.  “I didn’t mean to.  I’ve just been so tired from trying to repair the ship that I got mixed up.”  
“Hey,” Goku said as he reached his hand up to her arm, “it’s okay.  Everything’s going to be fine.”  
“How can you say that?”  Vegeta scoffed at Goku’s optimism.  “She’s out there murdering everyone she comes across.”  
“But this is what made her snap,” Goku insisted as he held both of the papers in his hand.  “If we show her the _real_ results, she’ll stop what she’s doing.”  
“That’s a long shot,” King Vegeta countered.  “Didn’t you hear a single word she said?  Unless we can find a way to undo all the torture that they inflicted upon her, then there’s no way she’ll stop.  She wants revenge for all she went through as well.  Just because you fix what broke the dam, that doesn’t mean that the walls are automatically repaired and the water stops pouring out.”  
“But this is a start,” Goku replied with confidence.  “maybe seeing this will help her start to heal.  Besides, she’s carrying _my_ child,” he continued, trying to get the other two Saiyans to go along with him.  “This isn’t just about saving Clara.”  
“I suppose you have a point,” King Vegeta finally agreed.  “If Clara let’s Gurki freely take over the newborn’s body, then she’ll have unparalleled strength – the blood of a royal Saiyan and the blood of Bardock’s son.  She could possibly destroy the universe.”  
“You think I don’t get that?!”  Vegeta snapped at his father.  “How the hell are we supposed to stop her if we can’t touch her?!  If we wait until after she has the child, then it’ll be too late – Gurki will have already taken over the newborn’s body and by that time, Clara will have wiped out thousands of people.”  
“Please,” Goku pleaded quietly.  “Please just help me stop her.  I gave up my marriage for her, our unborn daughter, and the people of Earth.  Please, just help me save them.  I know that there has to be a way to stop her.”  
            Once a few moments of silence passed through the room with the three Saiyans and Bulma, the silence was finally broken when the news anchor that had been talking previously came back on the television.  
            “I’m now receiving word that over three hundred people have died in this seemingly random massacre,” he began.  “So far, no one can get close to the assailant without being killed.”  
“Okay, Kakarot,” Vegeta finally said.  “We’ll follow your lead.”  
            Miles away in the very back of a cave on the side of a mountain in North City, Clara sat on a large rock with a makeshift fire burning hot.  The cold, dark cave that she sat in echoed with the sound of dripping water and scurrying animals.   
“Oh, little one,” she said quietly as she sat crisscrossed on the rock and stared into the fire with her hands on her stomach, “someday, you’ll grow up strong, and you’ll take over what mommy started.  My precious child, you have no idea what these pathetic Earthlings have put your mother through – torture, humiliation, pain, heartache, but your father continues to side with them even though they’ve ruined my life,” she said as tears began to form in her eyes.  “And my brother,” she scoffed, “how pathetic is he?  He brags about being the Prince of all Saiyans, but to call himself a Saiyan, let alone the Prince of all Saiyans is nothing more than an insult to the entire race, or what’s left of it – just like our father, the supposed King of all Saiyans.  If anyone should be considered a royal Saiyan, or a Saiyan at all, it should be me and me alone, alongside my princess that is.  And your half-sister,” she continued with anger, “her life was cut short by the man whom she would’ve called “dad”,” she scoffed.  “How pathetic,” she said as she glared at the other wall of the cave right in front of her.  “They don’t deserve their miserable lives.  No Earthling, no Sroid, and no one else besides you and me who dares call themselves a Saiyan.”  
            “So what’s your plan?”  King Vegeta asked as Goku stood up from the couch and put the two pieces of folded up paper with the test results on them in the upper left side of his gi top.   
“I’m gonna talk to her,” Goku replied as he began to walk towards the door, “maybe I can get her to listen to me.”  
“Even if you do convince her that she read the wrong results, do you honestly think she’s just gonna stop?”  Vegeta asked with skepticism.  
“Honestly?”  Goku replied as he turned around to look at Vegeta and his father.  “No.  I think she’s hurting to the point to where she can’t feel anything, which I can’t blame her for – she’s been through unimaginable things, and the fact that she held on this long is a miracle – it was only a matter of time until she snapped.  I know it’s gonna take a while for her to heal completely, but once she sees the real results, hopefully that process can start, and I’ll be right there alongside her as I’m sure the two of you will.”  Without a verbal reply, the Saiyan King and Prince gave looks of agreement and approval and followed Goku as he headed towards the front door; however, once the door opened up, a man with light pink – almost ghost white skin stood on the other side of the door.  The man’s long, bright red hair, piercing red eyes, pointed ears, and diagonal scar across his face made him look like something out of a horror movie.  His clothing – a long black sleeve, spandex type shirt and black matching pants and boots was accompanied with silver and black armor on his chest and shoulders.  In his left hand, he had a silver bladed broad sword with a black handle, and resting on his right hand was a bird that appeared to be a hawk.  
            “Is this it?”  The strange man asked the hawk in a calm voice.  “Okay, you can go now,” the man said once the hawk replied with a caw, and like something from a magic show, the bird disappeared into thin air.  While Goku and Vegeta stood in awe and confusion at what just happened in front of them, King Vegeta felt his rage begin to boil, and it was becoming increasing harder to hold himself together.   
            “You,” the king mumbled through his gritted teeth as he balled up his fists and glared at the stranger.  
“You know him?”  Vegeta asked as he turned around to look at his pissed off father.  Without replying, King Vegeta lunged forward towards the man, and quicker than Goku and Vegeta could comprehend, the two became engaged in an all-out battle on the Capsule Corp front lawn.


	30. Clara Saga - Part 30

**Part 30 - Hope**

  As King Vegeta and the unknown man who appeared at the front door of the Capsule Corp house continued in their air borne battle, Goku and Vegeta remained on the ground below and watched the battle as they both tried to figure out what was going on.  
            “Do you think they know each other?”  Goku asked.  The sound of the question made Vegeta glare at Goku.  
“What do you think, idiot?”  He counter-questioned.  “My father doesn’t start fights with random opponents without a reason – of course they know each other, or at least my father knows him.”  
“It looks like he’s having a bit of trouble,” Goku pointed out as he watched the strange man get the upper hand on the Saiyan King.  “Should we go help him?”  
“No,” Vegeta answered bluntly.  “Stay out of it.  If you get involved, then you’re just going to piss him off even more than he already is.”  
            “Well, well, well,” the stranger said as King Vegeta and he broke away from one another.  “It seems that the king is still alive after all,” he chuckled.  
“Why are you here?” King Vegeta angrily demanded to know as he wiped the blood from his lip onto his right glove.  “What do you want?”  
“Calm down, your majesty,” the man replied in a condescending tone.  “If all four of us could go inside and chat, then that would be most appreciated.”  
“We don’t have time to talk to you,” the king angrily replied.  
“Hm,” the man replied with a smirk as he began to float back down to the ground.  “I believe we do, sire,” he said as he took a long staff out from behind his back.  The staff had a long black handle and a crystal looking tip on it.  
“Woah.  What is that?”  Goku asked curiously and in awe.  
“This?”  The man questioned as he held it up for all to see.  “This is my Warrior Rod,” he answered with a smile.  “It allows me to do anything I desire – even stop time for as long as I want to, and since his majesty claims that you don’t have time to speak with me, then I’ll make time.”  Aggravated at the draw, King Vegeta floated back down to the ground and stood in between Goku and Vegeta with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.  
“What do you want?”  Vegeta demanded to know just as his father had.  
“First,” he replied as he held his left pointer finger up, “I will give a brief history lesson so that another little useless scuffle that like doesn’t happen again.”  
            “My name is Axmir, and before you ask, I’m the God of the Sroids.”  As he introduced himself, Goku and Vegeta looked on in awe, but King Vegeta wasn’t moved because he clearly knew who he was.  “Not only am I the God of the Sroids, but I’m also King Cretos Erebus’ right hand man.”  
            “Hang on a sec,” Goku interrupted.  “If you’re a God, then why do-,” he began to question before having his ability to speak completely taken away.  As Goku tried to speak, he found that all that came out of his mouth was air and no sound.  
“You have got to teach me how to do that,” Vegeta said with a smile on his face, but he was met with the same fate, and he too found himself unable to speak.  
“Now,” Axmir continued.  “If that’s all the interruptions, then I’ll continue to explain why I’m here,” he said as he shoved his Warrior Rod into the ground, successfully freezing time all around the group.  And again, as Goku and Vegeta looked around in awe, King Vegeta was less than unimpressed.  “I am here for her majesty – Queen Kali Erebus.  I know she’s here, so hand her over to me, and I will be on my way.  I’m not here for a battle, I’m only here on King Erebus’ orders to bring his wife home so that she can face her execution for treason.”  
“Her execution?”  King Vegeta scoffed, still with his arms crossed and his scowl look.  
“That’s right,” Axmir confirmed.  “She left her throne to come to this miserable planet.  Now, enough with the chit chat and just tell me where she is.”  
“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you,” the Saiyan King said with a chuckle.  
“Listen, Vegeta,” Axmir said, starting to sound impatient.  “I know she’s here.  I followed her energy which led me right here.  Don’t make me be disrespectful and enter a man’s home without permission.”  
“You didn’t follow my daughter’s energy,” King Vegeta denied.  “You followed _his,_ ” he said as he pointed to his son who was still unable to speak.  “They’re semi-identical twins.  Their DNA and energy is almost exactly the same; however, he’s stronger, so his energy sticks out more.”  
“Hm, I see,” Axmir said as he looked at the Saiyan Prince.  “He does seem familiar.”  
“Now, leave,” the Saiyan King demanded through his teeth.  “You have no more business here.”  
“This is far from over, Vegeta,” the Sroidian God said as he went to take his staff out of the ground.  “I _will_ find her, and when I do, she’ll be facing her execution.”  After pulling the staff back out of the ground, Axmir whistled and called the hawk that had been on his hand earlier, and as the hawk landed on his right hand again, the Sroidian God returned Goku and Vegeta’s voice, and Axmir and the hawk took to the sky and vanished into thin air.  
            “Dammit,” King Vegeta scoffed as he watched the God vanish.  
“You wanna explain what the hell all that was about?”  Vegeta said in a harsh tone.  
“He’s the God of the Sroids, and I can’t stand him,” King Vegeta began to explain as his balled fists began to tremble.  
“What’d he do?”  Goku questioned with curiosity.  
“When the Sroids and Saiyans went to war many, many years ago, he was the reason why,” the king told them.  “He sparked the war when he began taking away Saiyans’ abilities and using them as his own – much like what he did with your voices except on a much larger scale, and unlike just now, he didn’t give it back.”  
“So, you’re telling me that he has the power of millions of Saiyans?”  Vegeta said in shock and disbelief.   
“That’s right,” the king confirmed.  “And it’s all stock piled in that staff of his.  If he were to use that staff on you, it’d be like being blasted with a million Saiyans, and that hawk of his feeds on it, so he’s able to use the hawk to track Saiyans.”  
“Wow,” Goku said with a grin that hadn’t been seen in a long time.  “He seems really strong!  I bet that would be a fun battle!”  Instead of his usual scoff or unkind remark, Vegeta showed a short and small smirk come across his face.  
_He hasn’t had that stupid grin on his face in a long time,_ Vegeta thought as he looked at the excited Goku.  _Might as well let him enjoy it._

 

**"Hope is the thing with feathers**   
**That perches in the soul**   
**And sings the tune without the words**   
**And never stops at all."**

**-Emily Dickinson**

 

“Okay, Kakarot,” King Vegeta began.  “Look for your child’s energy.”  
            “Right,” Goku replied as he closed his eyes, focused, and searched for his unborn daughter’s energy.  _Come on, sweetheart,_ he began to plead as he continued to try to find her.  _Please, lead me to you._ Then, just like the previous time, a surge of energy hit Goku and without telling Vegeta or the king, he used his instant transmission to follow it.  
“What the hell?!”  King Vegeta yelled as Goku vanished into midair.  
“What is he thinking?!  Has he gone mad?!”  Vegeta added on in anger.  
_Sorry, guys,_ Goku thought as he reappeared on the outside of a cave in a mountain in North City.  _I guess she’s hiding out in here._  
            “Clara!”  He yelled out as he stood in the entrance of the dark, wet, and cold cave.  “I know you’re in here!”  
“Well, well,” she began as she walked towards the entrance of the cave with one of her knives in her hand.  “It looks like you’re alive,” she pointed out as she leaned up against one of the walls of the entrance.  
“Thanks to your brother and father, yeah,” he answered her.  
“Why are you here?  To kill me?  You’re just another human, after all, and all they’ve done since I got to this miserable planet is cause me pain,” she said as she looked down and began to touch the edge of her kunai knife.  “Tell me.  What’s stopping me from shoving this back into your gut?” She asked as she raised it and pointed it at Goku.  
“Nothing,” he answered in a serious tone with his arms open.  “If you come at me with it, I won’t fight back.  I’m not going to put my hands on you.  I came here to talk to you,” Goku said as he looked at the knife that had previously stabbed him.  “I’m not here to fight you.”  
Clara let out a small chuckle as she put the knife back by her side.  “Which one are you afraid to harm?  Me or the Saiyan growing inside of me?”  
“Both,” he quickly answered her.  
“I find that hard to believe,” she scoffed.  “I can see it in your eyes – you want to kill me, but because I’m carrying your child, you’re not going to because just like all the other humans, your selfish wants come before anything else, don’t they?”  
“If I kill you, then our daughter dies as well,” Goku pointed out.   
“Exactly!”  She replied with a laugh.  “Isn’t saving the world your job?”  
“If our daughter dies, then the world will be destroyed.  We both know that,” he reminded her.  
“And if you allow me to live, the world will be destroyed,” she laughed.  “Wow.  It’s quite the predicament.”  
“You’re wrong,” Goku told her.  “It may be too late to stop Gurki from destroying, but it’s not too late for you.”  
“And here’s the ‘hope’ speech,” Clara said to herself with a chuckle.  
“It’s not a speech this time,” Goku said as he walked towards Clara.  As he did, she raised her knife again and pointed it at him.  “Just come with me,” he said as he reached his right hand out towards her, clearly ignoring the knife being pointed at him.  “If at the end, your mind isn’t changed, then you are free to do whatever you want with me, alright?  And if Vegeta and your father or anyone gives me another Senzu Bean, I’ll re-kill myself, and if they try to wish me back with the Dragon Balls, then I’ll refuse to come back.”  
“Wow,” Clara said in a sarcastic surprised tone.  “You must be really confident.”  
“One hundred percent,” Goku confirmed.  “Now, come with me,” he repeated as he looked at his hand, giving her the signal to grab on.  Finally, and reluctantly, Clara grabbed onto Goku’s right hand, and with his fingers, he held her hand tight so that she wouldn’t be able to yank it away.  
            “Where are we?”  She asked as they appeared on a sidewalk in the middle of a city.  
“On the other side of the Earth,” Goku told her.  “No one on this side of the world knows your face or what’s happened.”  
“So why are we here?”  She asked in a bored tone as she looked around the busy city at all the people walking around.  Without a reply, Goku led her over to a bus bench, sat down, and with no way to get her hand free from him, she sat down on his right side.  
“Do you see these people?”  Goku asked as he put his left ankle over his right thigh and leaned back.  
“They’re humans,” Clara answered, sounding annoyed.  “What about them?”  
“Look around you,” he said as he pointed at the people all around them.  All around the two Saiyans were people going about their daily lives – teenagers gossiping on their cell phones, children being carried by their parents, people eating at the restaurants nearby, and love-birds walking hand in hand and kissing.  To her left, Clara saw an elderly man walking cheerfully down the street with bouquet of bright colored flowers.   
“Why am I looking at this?”  She asked with clenched teeth as she watched the people happily move about the city.  
“Now look at this,” he said as he reached his left hand into his gi top and pulled out the paper that he had folded up.  Without saying a word, Clara grabbed it with her right hand and opened it up.  
“What is this?”  She asked as she read the paper.  
“Your results,” he quietly answered.  
“My…results?”  She questioned again in disbelief.  
“Yes,” Goku confirmed.  “Now look at this,” he said as he transported them back to the city where Clara had committed some of the murders.  As they appeared in the middle of the street, they were met with the loud screaming of a young girl who looked to be about two years old and was screaming for her mom to wake up as she pulled on her lifeless body.  The two of them looked around and saw all different kinds of people lying dead on the ground – everyone from teenagers, to elders.  Goku instantly closed his eyes, unable to bear the horrific sight, while Clara looked on silently and emotionlessly.  “I can’t do this,” he said quietly as the young girl’s blood curling screams pierced his heart and ears, and he quickly took Clara to another part of where her murders took place.  As they stood in the center of her victims, Goku closed his eyes again and Clara looked around at the destruction she had caused.  “Tell me what you see,” Goku ordered her.  As Clara looked around, she saw her victims, who ranged from teenagers to elderlies, lying senselessly killed on the ground.    
“I see people lying on the ground dead,” she said coldly.  Without a reply, Goku took her took a park that was back on the other side of the Earth.  “I don’t understand what you’re doing,” Clara said in an impatient tone as Goku pulled her towards a bench off of the sidewalk and across from the playground.  
“Now, look over there,” he said as he pointed to an event unfolding on the playground.  When Clara turned her attention to where he was pointing, she saw a young girl, who appeared to be three or four, screaming for her mom – in a similar fashion as the other young girl – to come help her because she had scraped her knee on the pavement.  Instantly, the young mother ran towards her frantic daughter and scooped her up in her arms.  “Go kill that mother holding her daughter,” Goku commanded Clara as he dropped her hand for the first time since he grabbed it.  “And make sure that you kill everyone else.  If you don’t, then I will,” Goku said in an almost scary tone as he glared at Clara.  
“Why are you doing this, huh?”  Clara demanded to know as she turned her body towards Goku.  
“Because they’re Earthlings,” Goku began to explain.  “They all deserve to die.  They do nothing but cause pain and suffering.  Especially that young mom over there loving on her daughter, that elderly couple over there feeding bread crumbs to the birds, and the young teenagers playing hooky and kissing behind that tree.”  
“Hah,” Clara scoffed.  “You wouldn’t.”  Without a reply, Goku raised his right hand, formed a single handed Kamehameha, and aimed it at the woman holding her daughter.  As soon as Clara saw what he was about to do, she grabbed his wrist with her left hand and pushed it down so that his palm was facing the ground.  “Stop,” she said quietly as she looked at him with real emotion in her eyes.  “I get it,” she told him as she looked at the paper in her right hand.  
“Do you?”  He asked her as he let go of the energy in his hand.   
“Yes,” she quietly confirmed.  
“So, you get that the little girl who was screaming for her mother will never feel her mother’s arms around her again?  You get that all of the elderly people that you mercilessly killed will never be able to enjoy the beautiful parts of life ever again?  And the teenagers who just wanted to be young and in love will never have that opportunity?”  He asked with hurt and anger in his voice as he looked out at all the people who were just living their lives.  
“Yes,” she reconfirmed as a tear hit the paper that she was holding in her hand.  
“So then why?”  He questioned.  “Why would you want to cause so many people, who didn’t do anything to you, so much pain?”  
“Nothing is as it seems,” she answered quietly, sounding defeated.  “It was just a stupid mix up,” she scoffed.  “Just like taking my anger out on the wrong people was a stupid mix up.”  
“But you do realize that your little mix up is much more severe, right?”  He informed her – causing her to look up to him with tears in her eyes.  
“It still doesn’t change the fact that Earthlings are the ones who put me through all that torture, humiliation, and pain,” Clara insisted.   
“So, you’re telling me that the old man and woman sitting over there are responsible for what Doctor Uling and Sosa did to you?”  Goku asked in disbelief.  “Why should those two sick people ruin the chance of life for everyone else?  I guarantee you that the little girl over there playing on the slide had nothing to do with it.  Speaking of which, why didn’t you kill that little girl who was crying for her mother?”  
“I couldn’t bring myself to hurt a child,” Clara answered quietly and honestly.  
“But you did hurt her,” Goku countered.  “You hurt her probably more than anyone has or ever will.  I would have much rather died with my mother than look at her dead body and try to get her to wake up.  You took that girl’s mother away from her before she even got to have a life with her.  As a father, I can tell you that children don’t know much of anything at that young of age, but the one thing they do know is who their mother and father is and that they need them more than anyone.”  
“Well, I wouldn’t know,” Clara scoffed as she looked away from Goku.  “Because of me, my daughter died when she was two days old.”  
“You’re still blaming yourself for that,” Goku whispered to himself as he looked at the back of Clara’s head.  
“Why shouldn’t I?”  She tearfully asked as she tried to hide the hurt in her voice.  
“You saw yourself as that girl’s mother, didn’t you?”  Goku realized.  “You did to her what you want to do to yourself.”  
“If I could die and it would bring my Camilla back, then I would in a heartbeat,” she replied as she wiped a tear away from her eye.  
“I know,” Goku said quietly as he reached his hand onto her left hand.  “And I promise that we will get him for what he did, but I also know that there’s nothing that can be done to bring her back because her body was burned.  I know that it’s hard to hear, but the only way that you can begin to heal is to accept it.”  
“I know,” she said softly as she grabbed the side of her chest where her heart was.   
            “Answer me honestly,” Goku began again.  “How do you feel about our child?”  
            “What kind of question is that?”  Clara replied, sounding offended.  “She’s my…our child – I love her more than anything.”  
“Then you shouldn’t be holding onto this hate for Doctor Uling and Sosa,” Goku told her, “you should be thanking them.”  
“Are you serious?”  She replied, obviously in shock.  “ _Thank_ them?!  What the hell for?!  Thank them for the torture and humiliation they put me through?”  
“Think about it,” Goku replied.  “If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t be carrying our daughter that we both love.  I’d still be in an unhappy marriage, and our lives would go on as normal, but because of what they did to you, Gurki escaped and a new female Saiyan has to be born so we can contain her – the female Saiyan that you’re carrying right now.  Now, tell me.  I know you’ve already killed them; so how can you still hold onto hate for them?  Your wounds were healed, and the memories that they took were put back.”  
“I’ve never thought about it like that,” Clara admitted, “but that doesn’t get rid of the trauma, the nightmares, or the anxiety.  All of the damage they caused me is still there – it’s just in a different form.”  
“And that’s not something that you can wish away with the dragon balls or heal with a Senzu Bean,” Goku told her.  “It’s something you have to work at – something you have to fight, and I promise you, if you agree to put a stop to all this and trust me completely, I’ll help you; I’ll be right there next to you every step of the way.  So, here’s where you can decide what to do,” Goku said as he pulled the kunai out of his waistband and handed it to Clara.  “Either kill me and continue doing what you’re doing, or you can let me help you, and count on me being there every single day.”  As Clara held the handle of her knife, she looked down at the sharp edges of it and thought about all the damage she did and pain she caused.  _I’m no better than they are,_ she thought as she felt her heart sink to the ground.  She looked up at the father of her child, took her right hand, wrapped it behind his neck, and pulled him in to kiss him.  “Thank you,” she said as their lips separated and she placed her forehead on his.  
“I told you, didn’t I?”  He replied with a legitimately happy smile and a chuckle as he wiped tears away from her eyes with his right thumb.  “Everyone deserves a second chance.”  
            “Well, well, well,” a man’s voice said, coming out of nowhere.  “So, is this why my wife left me?”  As the two Saiyans looked around to see where the voice came from, they were surprised when they realized that it came from the man, standing right in front of them, coming out of thin air.   
            “What do you want?”  Clara asked with a demanding voice as she clenched her teeth.  
“I’ve come to take you home,” he said.  The man who was standing in front of them wore a black under suit, white and gold armor, and a red cape.  He had shoulder length, dark brown hair, and piercing blue eyes.   
“Is that -,” Goku began as he recognized the man standing in front of them.  
“Yes,” Clara answered before he could finish his sentence.  “My husband.”  
“Really, Kali,” Clara’s husband began.  “I’m disappointed in you.”  
“It’s Clara now,” she rudely corrected him.   
“Either way, it’s time you come with me.  Clearly, Axmir failed in finding you, so I had to come here and do it myself,” he said as he reached down and forcibly grabbed Clara’s right arm right at her elbow causing her to yelp in pain.  Hearing the sound of her cry, Goku instantly stood up from the bench that he and Clara had been sitting on and connected a left hook to the right side of the king’s face, but found himself in shock when he realized that it didn’t do anything except for make Cretos let go of Clara’s arm.  
“Get out of here,” he ordered Clara as he prepared himself to fight the Sroidian King.  “Now.”  
“What?”  She said taken back.  “No, I’m not leaving you,” she debated as she held her knife and got in her fighting stance.   
“Everyone!”  Goku yelled towards the people in the park.  “Get out of here right now!”  Without question, everyone in the park began heading towards the city streets – trying to get away from the battle that was about to ensue.  “Clara, please,” Goku quietly pleaded.  “Get you and our daughter to safety.”  
“Hope,” Clara replied bluntly.  “Her name is ‘Hope’.”  Without a second thought, Clara charged her husband with her weapon in hand, and as she got close enough, she swung it at his neck in a slicing motion, but it was an easy block for the king.   
            “So, another child, huh?”  He said with a laugh.  “Make sure this one doesn’t die,” he smirked.  
“Shut the hell up,” she angrily replied through her teeth as she continued trying as much as she could with her one weapon and everything her brother and father had taught her over the past couple of weeks.  Once an opening emerged, Cretos was able to land a hard left jab into Clara’s stomach – successfully knocking her to the ground.  
_Clara,_ Goku thought as he watched her land hardly on the ground and attempt to get back up.  “Clara, stop!”  He yelled as she went back to try to fight her husband.  Frantically, Goku flew up to the two of them and maneuvered his way in between them.  
“Stand aside,” Clara ordered Goku.  
“No,” he replied bluntly.  “I want you to leave here right away.  I’ll take care of him.”  
“You’re insane if you think I’m leaving,” Clara refuted.  “He’s the whole reason I came to this planet.”  
“I know that,” Goku informed her.  “But, please, I’m begging you, at least stay out of the way.  I don’t want anything to happen to you or Hope.”  
“Fine,” Clara finally, reluctantly agreed.  “Goku,” she said before floating back down to the ground, “please, be careful.  You have a daughter to walk down the aisle one day.”  
“Yes, Kali, stay right there, please,” Cretos yelled down as Clara landed on the ground.  “There, you can watch me kill your daughter’s father, and I’ll know where to find you when I take you back to Erebus.”  
“Don’t get distracted!”  Goku yelled as he connected a right high kick to the Sroidian King’s neck, causing him to pummel down to the ground, but once he shot right back up, Goku realized that no damage had been inflicted.  
“Lucky shot,” he said with a chuckle.  “Let’s see you try that again.”  
With a serious look on his face, Goku glared at Clara’s husband.  “What’s your problem?”  He asked with anger.  “How could you kill your own daughter?”  
“I did what was necessary for my people and my planet,” he began to justify himself.  “I couldn’t risk that demon causing mayhem on my planet.  I stand by my action.”  
“If you had done some research, maybe you would’ve found out that Gurki can only inhabit full-blooded Saiyan females,” Goku told him – expecting a moved response out of the king.   
“And?”  The king replied emotionless.  “I wasn’t aware of that at the time, but I knew that I couldn’t risk it.”  
“So then why have one in the first place?”  Goku asked in disgust.  
“Simple,” he replied with a laugh.  “I need a boy so that once he’s grown, he can take my place as king.  As a matter of fact, as soon as I kill your ass, my plan is to take Kali back to the kingdom, kill your daughter once she’s born, and then do whatever I need to so that she will conceive a boy – even if that means killing all the girls she has until then.”  
From hearing King Cretos’ plan, the anger in Goku began to rise to the boiling point.  “You bastard!”  He yelled as he charged the king once again with all of his strength.   
“This again?”  Cretos chuckled as he blocked every one of Goku’s punches.  “Have you not learned your lesson?!”  He yelled as he connected a left hook to Goku’s ribs and sent him to the ground, landing in front of Clara.  “You know,” he continued as Goku got back up on his feet and protectively stood in front of the mother of his daughter.  “If Kali had just stayed out of the files that she snooped around in, then none of this would be happening.”  
“Well, it’s too bad that I got sick of being treated like your slave,” Clara barked at him.  
“But that’s what you are, don’t you see?”  He replied as he tried to look around Goku to see his wife.  “If I want food, you make it.  If I want clean clothes, you wash them.  If I want sex, you give it up.  If I want the castle clean, you clean it.”  
“She’s not a piece of property!”  Goku shouted as he began connecting left and right hooks to the king’s face and body.  
“Haven’t you realized how useless this is?”  Cretos said as he caught both of Goku’s arms and hit him with a jab straight to the face, yet again sending him flying back in front of Clara.  “You know, Saiyan,” he began as he walked towards the two, “I’m beginning to think that you’re in love with my wife, so tell me.  Are you willing to die for her?”  
“Yes I am!”  He yelled as he went into his first Super Saiyan transformation and began firing energy blasts at Clara’s corrupt husband.  _Damn,_ he thought as he realized he wasn’t getting anywhere with his one on one battle.  _There’s gotta be something I can do.  If not for me and Clara, then at least for everyone else.  “Hey, King Kai!”_ Goku began to communicate telepathically.  _“King Kai, listen.  I don’t have much time to explain, but I would really appreciate it if you could contact the people of Namek and ask them to gather the dragon balls and wish all those killed by Clara except for Isaac Uling and Okuda Sosa back to life.”_  
_“You got it, Goku,”_ King Kai replied.  _“I’ve been watching what’s been happening, and I thought I should tell you that Vegeta and his father are on their way to help right now.”_  
_“Thanks, King Kai,”_ Goku replied as a smile came across his face.  
            “What’s so funny?!”  The Sroidian King demanded to know as he continued to hold his own against the Super Saiyan.  
_Come on, Goku,_ Clara pleaded to herself as she anxiously watched the battle between her husband and the father of her daughter.  _Why aren’t you fighting with all your power?  I know you’re stronger than this._  
            “He’s worried about the innocent bystanders,” Vegeta said as he came up from behind Clara.  “Twins, remember?”  He reminded her as he walked up next to her.  “I know what you’re thinking.”  
            “Right,” she quietly agreed as she kept her attention on the battle.  
“Are you better now?”  King Vegeta asked his daughter with concern in his voice as he too turned his attention to the sky.   
“Thanks to him,” she answered with a small smirk.  
“There’s no way that we’re going to be able to fight to our full potential here,” Vegeta stated as he watched how much Goku had to hold back.  “We need to go someplace else.”  
“Kakarot!”  King Vegeta yelled from down below.  “Lead him someplace else!  We’ll never be able to beat him here!”  
            “Right,” Goku said quietly to himself, and as soon as he got enough space in between him and the Sroidian King, he headed off into the cliffs where no people were present followed by Clara, Vegeta, and the Saiyan King.


	31. Erebus Saga - Part 1

**Part 1 - Prisoners**

 

  Erebus.  The once beautiful but now grim planet located on the outskirts of the universe, was slowly being torn apart by the ruling of the corrupt king, King Cretos, and now had war floating in the air instead of peace.  The dark purple skies of Planet Erebus made the surface cold, the night everlasting, and the variety of people who inhabited the planet found themselves to be less than unhappy.  In the center of the planet, the castle that King Cretos and his Queen, Kali, ruled from, housed a section that was set aside specifically for prisoners.  The rooms that were reserved for the captured prisoners were five feet by five feet, the walls were black stone, the floor was cold marble, there was no light, and there were no windows except for the tiny one on the door that led into the room.  Sitting in one of these tiny rooms was none other than the queen herself, Goku, Vegeta, and the King of all the Saiyans.  
            “Would you stop doing that?”  Vegeta asked in an aggravated and tired tone as he sat in the back left corner with his eyes shut and his arms crossed across his chest.  “If _we_ couldn’t break it down, _you_ can’t break it down.”  
            “Well, I refuse to just sit around on my ass and do nothing,” Clara angrily replied as she continued to try to kick the door down – the same thing that she had been doing for the past three minutes.  _Dammit, come on,_ she thought as she kept kicking the door as hard as she could.  _It has to give at some point._  
            “Just stop,” Goku said quietly as he sat in the corner adjacent from Vegeta and stared at the marble floor with a determined and aggravated look on his face.  “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”  
“I don’t care,” Clara replied as she began kicking the door harder.  
            “Stop it,” her father commanded as he stood up from his corner across from Vegeta and grabbed his daughter’s right leg with his right hand.  
“Let go of me!”  She yelled as she swung a right hook to the left side of her father’s head that was ultimately blocked with his left hand.  
“I said, ‘stop it’,” he repeated with anger in his voice.  Clara took her fist down, and the Saiyan King let go of her leg.   
“I don’t understand,” Clara said as she walked over and slid down the wall in between her brother and Goku.  “These doors were never this strong.”  
 _What happened?_ Goku wondered as he continued to quietly stare at the ground.  _Where did we go wrong?_

 

**One day earlier**

 

  As Goku and Cretos arrived in a mountainous area, Clara, Vegeta, and the king shortly arrived and stood watch on the top of a cliff a good way away.  
            “Do you honestly think that changing the scenery will give you an advantage over me?”  Cretos said with a smirk as Goku turned around to face him.   
            “I do, actually,” Goku replied as he powered up his Super Saiyan form and charged at the Sroidian King.   
“Pathetic,” Cretos scoffed as he caught Goku’s right arm, pulled him closer to him, and hurled him through a cliff with a single right hook to the left side of Goku’s face.  
“I’m impressed,” Goku said honestly as he flew back out of the cave he had created in the cliff and stood face to face with Cretos.  “You’re a lot stronger than I had thought.”  
“Your puny brain couldn’t begin to fathom the strength I possess,” Cretos replied with a chuckle.  
“I don’t care how much strength you have,” Goku said in an aggravated voice as he glared at Clara’s husband.  “You killed your own daughter and put Clara through God knows what.”  
“It’s not as if she didn’t enjoy every minute of it,” Cretos replied condescendingly as he smirked at Goku.  
“That’s enough!”  Goku yelled as he charged the king again, this time blasting his body with an energy blast once he got close enough.  
“You’re no match for me,” Cretos said quietly as he showed up behind Goku and connected a right high kick to Goku’s neck – successfully sending him to the ground.  As he landed on the ground, Cretos landed right behind him, and once Goku went to get back up, he found that the force of the Sroidian King’s foot on his back kept him from moving.  
            “Kakarot can’t move,” Vegeta pointed out as Cretos looked up at the three Saiyans watching from afar.  “Clara, what is this?”  Vegeta asked as he looked to his right to look at his little sister, who was just in as much shock as he and their father was.  
“I’m not sure,” she replied in shock.  “I’ve never seen this side of him.  I knew he was strong, but I didn’t know that he was _this_ strong.  I didn’t think it would be that hard for you guys to take him down.”  _Damn,_ she thought as she looked at the single kunai in her right hand.  Unable to figure out what to do, the three Saiyans had no choice but to stand by and watch as Cretos slowly increased the pressure on Goku’s back – causing him to scream out in pain.  As he screamed louder with each bit of pressure added, Clara became angrier and angrier.  
“Don’t,” Vegeta said in a demanding tone as he reached his right hand over to hold her left shoulder and keep her from getting in the battle.  Clara looked up at him with hate-filled eyes, and with her knife, she sliced the top of Vegeta’s wrist so that he would let go of her shoulder, and she headed towards Goku and Cretos.  “Dammit!”  Vegeta yelled as he held his badly bleeding wrist and tried to it to stop bleeding.  
            “Here,” King Vegeta said as he tore a piece of his red cape off and handed it to his son.  “Wrap it up in that.”  As he did what he was told, he watched his little sister throw herself into the battle.  
 _Please work,_ Clara thought as she got closer to her ruthless husband.  Once she was close enough, she decided that she was going to use the afterimage technique that her brother had shown her.  
“Hah!”  Cretos said with a laugh as he watched his wife get closer to him.  “Do you really think that _you_ can beat me?”  Without an answer, Clara got within inches of her husband and used the afterimage technique to quickly get behind him.  “Did you really think that would work?”  He laughed as he followed Clara’s quick movement and turned around to where she was supposed to be.  However, when he turned around to where his wife was supposed to have been, he began to look back forward when he realized that she wasn’t there, but before he could make it all the way around, he was met with a right front kick that sent him flying and off of Goku.  
“Yes, I did,” she answered as he landed with his back against a cliff.  “Get out of here,” she said frantically as she turned around to look at Goku who was beginning to stand back on his feet.  “Hurry.  Go now.”  
“If anyone needs to get out of here, it’s you,” he responded as he watched the angered king head for them.  “Get far away from here.”  
            “Well,” King Cretos began as he got closer to the two Saiyans.  “I must admit that I’m a little surprised at you, Kali,” he chuckled.  “Tell me, how were you able to land that on me?”  
“That’s for me to know,” she said as she turned her back towards Goku and looked at her bloodthirsty husband heading towards her.  
“Oh well,” he sighed as he wiped a trace of blood from his nose.  “In the end, it doesn’t matter anyways.”  
“Clara, please,” Goku quietly begged as he placed his left hand on her waist.  “Please get out of here.”  
“Sorry,” she said as she glared at her husband and prepared herself to fight, “I can’t do that.”  
“Ugh,” Cretos scoffed, “I’m getting sick of this sentimental crap.  Axmir, Exorcism Binding.  Now.”  
            “Yes, sir,” Axmir quietly responded as he appeared next to Cretos.  
“Exorcism what?”  Goku began, but before anyone answered him, Axmir raised his staff, flung Goku over to where the other two Saiyans were, and a dark, tight coil was formed around them.  
“What the hell is that?!”  Clara demanded to know.  “Who even are you?!”  
“I’ll leave the explaining to your husband, your majesty,” Axmir said as he bowed to Clara and disappeared.  
“Who the hell was that?!”  She demanded to know.  “Tell me now!”  
            “That is Axmir,” Cretos began with a smile.  “He’s the God of all the Sroids as well as my right hand man.  Did you see the staff that he used just a moment ago?  Inside the crystal of that staff contains the power of millions of Saiyans, so basically, he’s the strongest deity in existence.  He can use that power whenever he likes, and the abilities are limitless.  He can do anything – all he has to do is think of it.”  
“I’ve _never_ seen him around the kingdom,” Clara said angrily.   
“You really are foolish, aren’t you?”  King Cretos chuckled.  “Do you even know why I chose you to be my queen?”  
“Please,” she said, sounding uninterested, “enlighten me.”  
“Your power, my dear Kali,” he said quietly as he quickly moved so that he stood inches away from her.  “You have so much power that you aren’t even aware of,” he continued as he held her face with his right hand and began to stroke her cheek, and as Goku watched from afar, he became more determined to get out of the binding around the three of them.  
“Stop it, Kakarot,” Vegeta hissed at him.  
“Shut up, Vegeta,” Goku snapped at him.  “He’s going to hurt her.”  
“Seriously, Kakarot.  Stop it,” King Vegeta commanded him.  
“Why?”  Goku demanded to know.  “Are you telling me that you’re just gonna sit here and let him kill your daughter and granddaughter?!”  
“Of course not!”  The Saiyan King answered aggravated through his teeth.  “Can’t you feel your energy being siphoned?  Every time you move, more and more of your energy is transferred, and I if I had to take a wild guess, it would be to that staff of Axmir’s.  Now, stop moving!”  In understanding of what had just been said to him, Goku stopped his moving and continued to furiously watch the scene before him.  
“Get your hand off of me,” she barked as she went to slice his hand with her knife, but ultimately, he moved it away too fast for her to hit it and ended up causing a large cut on the right side of her face, right underneath her eye.  “What do you mean ‘my power’?”  She scoffed as she looked at the man in front of her with disgust and ignored the wound she had just inflicted on herself.  
“Why else do you think I would have had a non-Sroidian wife?”  He asked with a smirk.  “What?  Did you think it was because I actually loved you?”  He laughed.  
“You used me,” she quietly deduced to herself.  
“ _I_ didn’t use you,” he clarified.  “They’ve _all_ been using you – ever since you first landed on our planet – little six-year-old Kali.”  
“So, is that why I was kept prisoner?!”  She yelled at him.  “Is that why I was kept in the dark and trained in only weapons even throughout our marriage?!  Were you scared of me becoming too strong for you to control?!”  
“ _They_ were scared of you,” he chuckled.  “They knew what was inside you – the monster Saiyan that dwells within you.”  
“Dwelled,” she harshly corrected him.  “I’m done talking to you – it’s time to settle this.”  
            Quickly, Clara charged head on towards her husband who was standing with a sadistic grin on his face.  _Yes,_ he thought as he watched her near him.  _Come at me with everything you have, you disgusting Saiyan._  
            _The same attack isn’t going to work on him,_ she thought as she tried to figure out how to take her husband down.  _He’s smarter than to fall for that one again._   _Damn.  Okay, Clara think.  He wants me to think that he’s expecting me to attack him in the front, but in reality, he’s expecting me to attack him in the back, which is what a normal person would do when trying to get the element of surprise.  So, I need to over analyze his over analysis.  I need to attack him in the front, but that’s the same method as last time – he’ll never fall for that again.  Come on, you have one shot to finish him off._ As she got closer and ran out of time to think, she decided to trust her instinct and do what she felt was the right move, and as soon as she did, the Sroidian King felt a kunai knife bust through his armor, and go deep into his back.  “Gotcha,” she sadistically whispered as she held the blade in his back, causing him to spit up blood.  
“You’re wrong,” he said with a laugh.  “It’s I who has you.”  
“What?”  Clara replied in shock and confusion.  With the knife still in his back, she saw it begin to turn red.  “What the hell are you doing?!”  She demanded to know.  
“You see, Kali,” he began with a laugh, “you think that you’re the smartest person here, but in reality, you’re just a measly monkey.  I’m not as dumb as you would like to think I am.  The technique that you’ve doomed your brother, father, and boyfriend to is called my Thought Relocation.  Let me just say that I knew what you were going to do before you did it.  I knew that you would think that I was expecting you to attack me from the back because you were charging at me from the front; however, that’s the same thing you did as last time, so you thought that I would expect you to attack me in the front, so you launched your attack behind me in hopes that I would be expecting it in the front, but you couldn’t have been more wrong, Kali.  Look at your right hand, the one holding the knife in my back.  Do you see the cut on it?  You probably didn’t notice it at the time, but whenever you decided to slice your brother’s hand away, you accidently cut your own in the process of trying to hurry down and save your boyfriend.  Now, do you see how the knife has turned red?  That’s my blood, and it’s already met with yours; therefore, we are physically bound together now.  For this technique, I can make it to where anyone within a two-mile radius that shares the same blood as the person physically touching me, is affected, and there’s no way for any of them to escape – try as they might, or if multiple people have physical contact with me, I can simply send them wherever I please, but I knew that getting all four of you to grab onto me at once would be impossible.  All I have to do is think of a place that I want you to go, and poof, all four of you will be there in an instant.”  
“If that’s true, then Goku won’t be going with us,” she countered him.  “In case you’ve forgotten, we don’t share the same blood.”  
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he chuckled.  “That fetus inside of you is part of you and him; therefore, through the child you’re carrying, you are connected.  Now, be gone.”

 

**"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King Jr.**

 

  
        “He’s too strong,” Goku quietly confessed to himself, sounding as if all confidence had been taken from him and his will to fight disappeared.  The sound of the unconfident remark caused the other three Saiyans to look at him in shock.  
            “Did you just…doubt yourself?”  Vegeta asked in pure shock.  _That’s not like Kakarot at all,_ he thought as he looked at the depressed Saiyan.  _He’s never thought such things like that._  
“It’s true, Vegeta,” Goku replied as he looked up at the Saiyan Prince.  “Everything I threw at him, he dodged and countered, and he turned Clara’s attack against all of us.  There’s no way that we can beat him.  We can’t even break down a simple door – not even in Super Saiyan or Super Saiyan Three form, and something is blocking me from using instant transmission to get us out of here.”  
            “You can thank me for that,” Axmir said in a friendly tone as he appeared inside the small room that housed the four Saiyans.  “Orders from King Cretos.”  
            “Why are you blindly following that despicable man’s orders?”  Clara tiredly asked as she sat crisscrossed in between Goku and Vegeta, leaning her head against the wall, and looking towards the ceiling.  
“It’s such a shame to hear a wife talk about her husband in that way, let alone a queen talking about her king like that,” Axmir replied.  
Clara scoffed.  “He’s not my husband anymore, and he’s a pathetic excuse for a king.  What is he giving you?  There has to be some reason that you’re doing everything he tells you to.”  
“I’m sorry, Queen Kali,” Axmir replied in his usual friendly tone.  “I’m not permitted to speak of King Cretos’ deals.”  
            “That’s bullshit,” King Vegeta butted in angrily.  “You’re the _God_ of the Sroids – you brought them into existence.  There’s no reason to be his right hand man.  He has to be giving you something.”  
“As I’ve said, I’m not able to speak of King Cretos’ deals,” Axmir kindly repeated.  “I came here to bring you your dinner,” he said as he tapped his staff on the ground and produced food that looked like it had come out of a pig pen.  On the four plates that were set down in front of the Saiyans, the food that appeared to be on them was corn, a piece of ham, and a roll of bread, and in the cups that were put down along with them was iceless water.  
“You’re seriously expecting us to eat this garbage?”  Clara asked as she picked up the piece of ham and looked at it.  “You do realize that I’m pregnant, right?  You’re going to starve us to death.”  
“That’s not my problem, Queen Kali.  Perhaps you shouldn’t have spread your legs,” Axmir said as he tapped his staff and left the room – leaving Clara and the others in disgust and anger.  
 _That was strange,_ Clara thought as she thought about what he said right before leaving the room.  
            “Well,” King Vegeta began as he looked at the food in front of him, “it’s not what I would call fine dining, but at least it’ll give us some calories and carbs…hopefully.”  _How embarrassing,_ he thought as he picked up the piece of ham.  _How did the King of all Saiyans get stuck eating this pig slop?_  
            “Here,” Goku said quietly, still in his depressed mood as he pushed his plate towards Clara and put it side by side with her plate.  “You’re eating for two – you need it more than I do.”   
 _Goku,_ she thought as tears began to build up in her dark eyes.  _I never thought I would see you this depressed – it breaks my heart to pieces to see you like this._ A moment later, she grabbed Goku’s right hand and brought it over to her stomach.  “You _can’t_ give up so easily,” she said quietly as she placed his hand on her stomach and looked up at him.  
“Don’t eat the food,” King Vegeta warned the other as he began to spit out the bite of ham he attempted to eat.  “Especially you,” he said as he pointed at Clara, “do not eat it.”  
“Wasn’t planning on it,” she replied as she watched her father try to get the taste out of his mouth and pushed the plates away.  
            “We may have to blow the planet,” Vegeta finally said, seeming to have ignored everything that had just happened.  
“Absolutely not,” Goku quickly replied as he looked towards Vegeta.  “That’s out of the question; there are too many innocent people.”  
“If you’re worried about harming innocent people, then you’re battling on the wrong planet,” Clara told him.  “Erebus is just a huge metropolitan city with tiny training bases and a few small farms.  Other than that, it’s like multiple West Cities put together to cover the entire surface.”  
“How many people live here?”  King Vegeta asked his daughter.  
“The last time we did a population count was about a year ago, and at that time, there were ten trillion people,” she answered him.  
“Ten trillion?!”  Vegeta exclaimed in shock.  “Are you sure you counted right?!  That’s fourteen-hundred times the Earth’s population!”  
“One thousand four-hundred and twenty-eight, to be exact,” Clara specified – causing Vegeta to look offended.  “But that’s not the point,” she continued.  “Whether or not we like it, there will be casualties, and a good number of them will be innocents.”  
“Does this planet really not have a military?”  King Vegeta asked in skepticism.  
“We have an extremely strong military,” Clara informed him, causing a small amount of hope to return to the Saiyans, “but the divisions have been at a multi-sided civil war for over three years, so getting them to work together is close to impossible.”  
“Damn,” Vegeta said as he looked back down to the ground and tried to think of another strategy.  “You’re the queen of this planet, aren’t you?”  He asked.  “Surely the military has to obey your orders.”  
“You would think that,” Clara said with a chuckle.  “As soon as Cretos killed our daughter, the blame instantly fell on me, and let’s just say that the people of Erebus are completely against me; however, there may be one person that can help, but we have to wait for her to come to us.”  
            Suddenly, a wave of fatigue came over Clara, and her eyes began to unwillingly close.  
            “Who is it?”  King Vegeta asked his daughter who was trying her hardest to keep her eyes open.  
            “She’s uh,” Clara began tiredly as she fought to stay awake, “she’s my…she’ll come,” Clara finally got out before passing out and falling over into Goku’s lap on her side.  
“Hey, Clara!”  The Saiyan King yelled as he watched his daughter pass out.  “Clara, wake up!”  He frantically said as he made his way over to the young Saiyan.   
            “Kakarot, is she okay?”  Vegeta asked as he tried to shake his sister awake.  
            “She’s fine, guys,” Goku quietly replied as he felt her pulse on the side of her neck facing up to him.  “She’s just asleep.”  
“Right,” King Vegeta said – assuring himself and his son.  “After all, she is pregnant and probably starving.”  
“Yeah,” Goku quietly agreed as he ran his fingers on his right hand through Clara’s hair.  “How can this guy be this powerful?”  He asked – making sure to keep his voice down so he wouldn’t wake the mother of his daughter.  
“I don’t know,” King Vegeta quietly answered as he sat down with his back towards the door, facing Goku, Vegeta, and his sleeping daughter.  “I think Clara might have been onto something though,” he continued.  “Did you hear her when she asked Axmir what Cretos was giving him?”  The two conscious Saiyans nodded in reply.  “Maybe Cretos made some sort of deal with Axmir to give him God-like powers.”  
“That would have to be one hell of a deal,” Vegeta quietly said in skepticism.  
“What we should really be focusing on right now is figuring out how he gets his power, and if he made some sort of deal with Axmir, then we need to figure out what that deal was,” King Vegeta suggested.  
“And getting Clara decent food,” Goku added on as he looked down at the sleeping Saiyan and continued to run his fingers through her long, beautiful black hair.  
“Right,” the Saiyan King agreed with a nod.  “Right now, she’s using twice as much energy as before, and if she starves, then two lives are lost.  _We_ might be able to survive for a few days, but _she_ won’t.”  
“Let’s just sit tight and wait for that person she was talking about before she passed out,” Vegeta suggested.  “It’s not like we can go anywhere or do anything right now anyways.”  
            In the dark, cold, room where the four Saiyans were being held with no means of escaping, Vegeta and Goku sat in opposite corners on the back wall, and Clara laid fast asleep on her daughter’s father’s lap.  In the corner that Vegeta had claimed as his, he attempted to find some comfort and try to get some sleep in order to ignore his hunger and try to make time pass until the one person that may be on Clara’s side showed up.  In Goku’s corner, while being as exhausted as he was, he instinctually stayed awake to watch over the sleeping Clara and their child that she was carrying, and much like Goku, the Saiyan King also stayed wide awake in his corner across from his son and close to the door.   
            “You really care for her, don’t you?”  He quietly asked Goku as he watched how protective he was being over his daughter.  
“Yeah,” he replied quietly with a smirk, “I do, but it’s difficult.”  
“How do you mean?”  King Vegeta asked with a curious look.  
“It’s hard loving two people at once,” Goku began to quietly explain.  “I’ll always love ChiChi – that’ll never change even though she may hate me for the rest of her life.  In the end, she gave me my two sons and the best years of my life when we weren’t arguing or when she would get mad at me for trying to pull the boys away from studying, but with Clara – it’s different.  She’s just a completely different person.  It just feels like I can be myself with her and not have to worry about anything.”  
“She’s a Saiyan,” the king said with a smirk.  “She understands how Saiyans are and what they desire.  She understands your love for training and thirst for battle because she too wants those things.  She doesn’t want fancy dates and nights out on the town – she wants to train and fight.  Why else do you think she got involved in that fight between you and Cretos?  She’s also the queen of an entire planet, so she knows what it takes to protect her planet and her people, and she understands that sacrifices have to be made and things can get ugly.  She’s a true warrior – much like yourself, and that’s something that a human will never be able to fully understand.”  Goku couldn’t help but to smile down at Clara who was still sound asleep in his lap with her back to him.  
“When we get off this planet, there’s something I want to ask you,” he said as he looked up at the Saiyan King and met his eyes.  
“Of course,” King Vegeta answered with a smirk as he realized what Goku wanted to ask him.  
As the hours went on, all of the Saiyans except for one were sound asleep.  Goku, who was still protectively watching over the sleeping mother of his child, stayed wide awake and tried time and time again to come up with a way to get the four of them out of the room that they were being held prisoner in.  _You saved me,_ he thought as he looked down at the sleeping Saiyan in his lap and thought back to when Clara jumped into the battle between him and her husband.  _You saved me, and I can’t even get you out of here._  
            “Hey,” Clara said quietly and tiredly with her eyes still closed as she began to wake up.  
“Well, good morning,” Goku replied in the same quiet tone as a small smile came on his face, “how’d ya sleep?”  He asked as Clara turned over onto her back and looked up at Goku and the ceiling.  
“As good as I could, I guess,” Clara said as she closed her eyes and rubbed her head.  “My head is killing me,” she said quietly, “I need something in my system.”  Knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop her from starving, Goku brushed her hand aside and rubbed her aching forehead as she closed her eyes.  
“I’m sorry,” he apologized as he tried to ease her headache.  
“For what?”  She asked as her eyes shot back open.  “You didn’t do anything wrong.  I’m the one who got too cocky.  I thought that I had tricked Cretos, but in reality, he was the one who tricked me, and now we’re all sitting in here starving to death.”  
“I should’ve went all out in the beginning,” Goku said quietly to himself.  
“It’s too late to be worrying about that,” Clara told him.  “What matters now is finding a way out of here and destroying Cretos.”  
“I can’t even get us out of here,” Goku said, sounding disappointed.  “You saved my life, and I can’t even get you, our child, your brother, or father out of a stupid room.”  
“That’s your problem, right there,” Clara pointed out as she reached her right hand up to the left side of Goku’s face.  “You’re always trying to save everyone by yourself.  I told you that I probably still have one person on my side, remember?”  
“Hey, that’s right,” Goku said as his spirts began to rise, “who is it?”  
            “Her name is Lenora, and she’s one of the kindest Sroids that I’ve ever known,” Clara began with a smile as she continued to look up at Goku.  “She took care of me when I first landed on this planet when I was six-years-old.  She gave me food when the king told her not to, she gave me extra training when it came to my weapons, she played games with me when I was confined to my room, she made my bed more comfortable when I was supposed to sleep on a mattress on the ground, and she gave me clean sheets and clothes every day.  She was basically like my mother figure, and she was also the one who told me everything about the Saiyans and my past before I went to Earth.  If it weren’t for her, I don’t think I would have made it very long.”  
            “And you think she’ll help us?”  Goku asked filled with hope.  
“Absolutely,” Clara nodded, “I can always count on her.”  
“So, how was she able to do all that stuff for you without getting caught?”  Goku asked with a confused look.  
“Simple,” Clara chuckled.  “She has two abilities that no one else besides me is aware of.  One is the ability to form pretty much anything so long as it’s in a different dimension than this one, and the other is the ability to shapeshift.  At night when I was supposed to sleep on the uncomfortable mattress, she would go to a different dimension, create a room, fill it with delicious foods and furniture, and then she would come get me and take me to it.  However, before she came to get me, she would form an exact clone of me – personality and all, and she would leave it in the room that I was supposed to stay in so if the guards came to check and make sure I was still there, they would see “me”, when in reality, I was in a much more comfortable place.  The next ability is to shapeshift.  That’s how she was able to tell me everything about the Saiyans.  Because children are naturally curious, I would often ask her if she knew where I came from and why I was sent to Erebus.  Because I had a tail when I first arrived, she, along with the other older Sroids knew exactly what I was.  She would shapeshift into different creatures – anything from an ant, to a ghost, make her way into the file room, and look at the files on the Saiyan Race.  She would bring them to me, and I would read them, and once I read about all the history of the Saiyans, and who my family was, and where they had been found – on Earth, everything about myself made sense to me, so when Cretos killed Camilla, I knew where I had to go and what I had to do, and that was to find you, my brother, and the other surviving Saiyans and bring you all here to help me avenge my baby daughter’s death.”  
            “So when will she come help us?”  Goku asked her.  
“Whenever she gets a chance,” Clara replied.  “Cretos has her running errands basically twenty-four-seven.”  
            “Are you sure she’s even still alive?”  Vegeta asked as he was still sitting in his corner with his eyes closed.  “I thought I heard Cretos say that he knew you had read the files, and I’m assuming that the files he was talking about were the Saiyan files that Lenora gave you.  Any normal king would have executed her.”  
            “That’s not true, Vegeta,” King Vegeta replied as he opened his eyes and sat up from the floor.  “If she’s a big enough asset to Cretos, then it’s unlikely that he would kill her.  He’s most likely making her work harder than ever and making her suffer while she does.”  
“You’re both wrong,” Clara countered them.  “He has no idea that she’s the one who gave me the Saiyan files.  When I fled the castle and bolted towards my ship, he tried to stop me and kept asking me where I was going.  I knew that I had to catch him by surprise in order to get him to let go of me, so I told him I was going to Earth and that I was coming back with a Saiyan Army.  Obviously, he asked where I had learned about the Saiyans from, and I knew that I couldn’t sell out Lenora, so I told him that I had broken into the file room a few days prior and read the Saiyans files, and you all know the rest from there.”  
“That was really brave of you,” Goku said with a smile as he looked down at Clara who was still laying in his lap.  
“Thank you,” she said as she smiled back.  
“You two have got to cut that out,” Vegeta snapped.  “It’s disgusting.”  
“It’s not like we’re having sex in front of you,” Clara snapped back as she got up from Goku’s lap to make eye contact with her older brother, causing Goku’s face to turn red.  
“I would burn my eyeballs out before I saw that!” Vegeta retorted as he and his sister were face to face with their noses almost touching.  
“I would rather just burn your eyeballs out right now!”  Clara yelled back at him.  As the brother and sister went back in forth with insults and meaningless threats, Goku and King Vegeta started to become annoyed, but before they could say anything to shut them up, Vegeta shut himself up when he noticed a worm on the ground that was slowly making its way towards him and Clara.  “No, don’t!”  Clara yelled as she jumped to protect the worm that was about to be blasted by Vegeta.  “Hey, Lenora,” she said with a chuckle and a grin as she looked at the worm that her arms were surrounding.  
“Did she just…talk to that worm?”  Vegeta questioned with a disgusted look on his face.  
“Shapeshifting, remember?”  She reminded her brother.  “It’s Lenora.”  
“I think you’re just going crazy,” Vegeta scoffed.  
“I know what I’m talking about, Vegeta!” she countered as the sibling argument was beginning to be refueled.  During the midst of the Saiyan twins’ arguing, Lenora undid her shapeshift and turned into her normal Sroidian self.  
            “Kali, my dear,” she said in a soft, kind voice as she looked down to see Clara’s arms circling her legs.  
            “Huh?”  Clara said as she seemed to be oblivious of what just happened due to her arguing and looked up to see Lenora in her natural form.  “Lenora!”  She yelled as she quickly stood up and looked at her old mother-figure standing in front of her, and as the other three Saiyans turned their attention to Clara’s old friend, Goku’s positivity sky rocketed, Vegeta became embarrassed that he had lost the argument with Clara and turned his back towards them all, and King Vegeta found himself completely infatuated with the woman standing in the center of the small room.   
            _Holy shit,_ the Saiyan King thought as he looked at the woman that Clara had called her mother-figure and that had taught his daughter almost everything she knew.


	32. Erebus Saga - Part 2

**Part 2 - Freedom**

**"You see, freedom has a way of destroying things." - Scott Westerfield**

 

  
        Feeling awkward yet happy, Lenora stood in the center of the room and felt all the eyes on her.  
            “Gosh, am I glad to see you!”  Clara exclaimed as she jumped up and gave Lenora a hug.  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered.  
            “Oh child,” Lenora quietly began as she brushed Clara’s hair behind her left ear, “there are no words to describe how lonely I’ve been and how empty the kingdom has been since you left.  I’ve heard word of what happened on Earth between you and Cretos.”  
“Yeah,” Clara said quietly as she lowered her gaze to the cold, dark, hard ground, “it was my fault.  I got too carried away thinking that I could out smart him.”  
Lenora chuckled.  “But don’t you see, Kali?  That cannot be helped,” she said in a soft, comforting tone.  “It’s how you’ve always been.”  Hearing the kind, soft words coming from her mother-figure put Clara’s smile back on her face.  “And by the way,” Lenora continued, “I’ve taken the liberty of making a decent living quarters for you all,” she informed the four Saiyans – instantly grabbing their attention.  
            “Really?”  Goku said happily as he stood up from his sitting position and walked towards Lenora.  
“Indeed,” Lenora replied with a smile.  “All you must do is hold on to me, and I’ll transport us there.”  Without a second thought, Clara took Lenora’s left hand, Goku grabbed her right hand, King Vegeta touched her left shoulder, and Vegeta touched her right shoulder, and before they knew it, they were out of the tormenting prison and in the room that Lenora had built for them.  
“Wow,” Goku awed as he saw the comfortable room that had been made for them.  The room was a complete opposite of the prison.  It was brightly lit, the walls were clean and painted in an off white color, the main room was a giant living room that was equipped with a large couch, a fireplace, and a coffee table.  The room off to the left was the giant kitchen and dining room, and all the Saiyans secretly hoped that it was stocked with enough food to feed all of them.  Then, there were four rooms off to the right.  Each room was a separate bedroom with queen sized beds in them, and each of them had their own bathroom attached to them.  
“Well, it’s much better than that shoe box we were trapped in,” Vegeta said as he got done looking around the room.  
            “Indeed it is,” King Vegeta added on.  “This will act as our headquarters while we figure out a way to stop Cretos,” he concluded.  
“Um, Kali, dear,” Lenora began as she turned to Clara.  “You did tell them about the limitations, right?”  
“Oh,” Clara said with a disappointed look on her face.  “I forgot about that.”  
“Right,” Lenora chuckled.  “You may use this space however you feel, but this space will only remain in existence as long as I’m in it, and I’m only able to keep it in existence for a total of twenty-four hours – physical plane time.  By that time, all of our clones will be gone, and it will be obvious that none of us are where we are supposed to be.  However, I can create a new space with new clones after forty-eight hours.  So, basically, after we spend twenty-four hours in here, the four of you will have to go back to the “shoe box”, as you called it, and I will have to return to my duties of the king’s maid for two days – unless of course you can find a way out of there, but with Axmir holding the door, I don’t see how that’d be possible.”  
“Well, hang on a second,” Goku began as he had a thought come into his head, “couldn’t you just transport us out of the prison and to somewhere else? My instant transmission won’t work in there, but your teleportation technique does.”  
“No, Kakarot,” King Vegeta answered.  “We don’t want that yet.  We don’t have a plan to defeat Cretos, and going into a battle without a battle plan would ultimately get us all killed.  We need to come up with a fool-proof strategy first, but that might take more time than we had originally thought.  Then we can get her to teleport us out of the room.”  
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Lenora let them down.  “We are still in the same spot as before, just on a different plane.  Not even I can get you out of there.  The only reason I was able to get in was because I shapeshifted into a worm and crawled through the space between the door and the floor.”  
“I’m sorry, guys,” Clara said quietly and sounding disappointed.  “I should have said something.”  
“Dammit,” Vegeta scoffed as he learned of the limitations of Lenora’s power.  
“I need to make your clones and get them sent to the prison before they realize that you’re all gone,” Lenora said as she began walking up to King Vegeta.  As she walked over to him, she grabbed both his hands, closed her eyes, breathed in, and then an exact clone of him was standing right next to him.  She did the same thing to the other three Saiyans, and as she got to Clara – the last Saiyan in line, a smile came across her face.   
“What is it?”  Clara asked curiously as Lenora finished making her clone.  
“How long did you think you could keep it a secret from me?”  Lenora asked with a smile, causing one to appear on Clara’s face as well.  
“Am I showing already?!”  Clara said, sounding a little freaked out as she examined her clone.  
“No, child,” Lenora chuckled.  “Earlier, when you and he grabbed my hands, I thought I felt something strange between both of your energies, and just now after holding his hands again, and holding yours, I can tell that there’s a being that shares the energy of both of you.”  
“Yeah, well, Gurki got out,” Clara said quietly, causing shock and fear to take over Lenora’s usually cheerful face.  “I’ll explain later,” she added.  Lenora created a cloned version of herself, gathered the cloned Saiyans, and had her clone take them to the other plane – the one where the prison was.  “Oh my God, I’m starving,” Clara said as she bolted over to the kitchen and began to look through the refrigerator.  
“I made sure that the refrigerator was stocked enough for all four of you, but I wasn’t expecting there to be five,” Lenora joked as Clara turned around with her arms full of food.  After Clara sat down and began to chow down on all of her food, she was soon joined by the other three Saiyans.  After eating all the food that Lenora had stocked for them, the four Saiyans and Lenora sat around in the large open living area.  Clara sat with her legs crisscrossed next to her father on one of the couches, Vegeta stood across from them and leaned against the wall next to the fireplace, Goku sat on the floor in front of Clara, and Lenora sat on the floor across from Goku.  
            “So, what exactly is Axmir?”  Clara questioned.  “How can he be this strong?”  
            “He’s a God,” Lenora plainly explained.  
            “But even a God shouldn’t have these ridiculous powers,” King Vegeta added.  “He has to be something other than that.”  
“No,” Lenora said as she shook her head, “he isn’t.”  
“If he’s a God, then why would he be able to be manipulated by Cretos?”  Clara asked.  “How is it that Cretos can make him to whatever he wants?  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”  
“It wasn’t always like that,” Lenora informed them.  “I believe that it may have something to do with the staff that he carries – the Warrior Rod with the power of a million Saiyans.”  
“You’re holding something back,” Clara deduced as she watched Lenora carefully form her words.  
“I’m sorry, Queen Kali,” Lenora said as walked over to Clara and went to her knees.  “You’re right, I am.”  
            “So then out with it,” Vegeta ordered.  “I’m already sick of being on this pathetic planet.”  
“Axmir is my brother – my twin brother,” Lenora began as tears filled her eyes.  “We were born from the atmosphere when this planet first came into existence, and we were both responsible for creating the Sroids.  However, everywhere you go, there must be a balance between light and dark – we were both half-light and half-dark.  His darkness would work with my light and vice versa.  We were the positive and negative that worked together to keep things running as they should.  However, as time went on, the Saiyans began to inhabit our planet, and I became obsessed with their power.  I created a staff that would help me steal their energy and use it as my own, but all the energy that the Saiyans possessed back then was dark energy.  Eventually, after I had gathered enough of the Saiyans’ energy, the darkness snuffed out my light, and I became submerged in darkness.  It was my brother who sacrificed himself to pull me out of it.  When he saw what I had become, he took the staff from me, used it to absorb my darkness, and because it was now in his possession, all of the dark energy was transferred to him, and all of his light-energy was snuffed out while mine returned, thus creating the light Goddess and the dark God.”  
            “I can’t believe you did that,” Clara said as disbelief and anger took over her.  “How could you have done such a thing?  I thought you were good.”  
“I am now,” Lenora said with a smile.  “Thanks to my brother.  He was trying to protect me.”  
            “So, his power comes from the staff,” Vegeta concluded.  “The staff that _you_ made and used to absorb the Saiyans’ power.”  
“Yes,” Lenora said quietly.  “And as time went on, Axmir became the one to blame for starting the Sroidian-Saiyan war.”  
“So, what would happen if we were to get the staff from him?”  King Vegeta asked as they all looked at Lenora with shock and a little bit of confusion on their faces.  
“Whoever is in possession of the staff is linked to it,” Lenora began.  “If you were to get the staff from him, you could control him.  That’s his weakness.”  
            “But Cretos didn’t have the staff,” Goku butted in, “so then that must mean that Cretos isn’t controlling Axmir.”  
“You’re correct about that,” Lenora said.  “Axmir never lets the staff go because he’s afraid that someone will take it from him.”  
“Would he have exchanged it for something?”  Vegeta questioned.  “Could it be possible that Cretos gave him something valuable in return so that he would do whatever he wanted?”  
“The only thing that Axmir wants is power,” Lenora told them.  “Or at least, that’s all the darkness in him wants, but if they made a deal, then it wasn’t too long ago,” she continued.  
“Yeah, I know,” Clara said as she got up and walked towards one of the bedrooms.  “I had never heard of him until he showed up with Cretos on Earth.”  
“Where are you going?”  King Vegeta demanded to know as he watched his daughter walk into one of the rooms.  
“She doesn’t feel well,” Vegeta said quietly as Clara closed the door.  
“Yes,” Lenora added, “she was like this when she was carrying Camilla.”  
 _Camilla,_ King Vegeta thought as he remembered his deceased granddaughter.  “Tell me, you created the staff, so what would happen when a Saiyan’s energy was completely absorbed?”  
“They turned to ash,” Lenora said quietly as she stood up and sat next to the Saiyan King.  
King Vegeta scoffed.  “I think I figured out what Cretos gave Axmir in exchange.”  
“Huh?  You did?”  Goku questioned curiously as he looked at the king.  
“Camilla,” he said with rage in his voice.  “He gave Axmir Camilla in exchange for complete control of him, or at least partial.”  
“I highly doubt that Axmir would give up his freedom for a newborn,” Lenora said with skepticism.  
“He didn’t want Camilla,” Vegeta said as he shook his head.  “He wanted Gurki.”  
“But Gurki isn’t able to possess the body of a half-breed,” Goku told them as he looked at Vegeta.  
“Well, Cretos thought she could, remember?”  King Vegeta reminded him.  “Here’s what I think happened.  I think that Axmir found out about Gurki, and because there was a female Saiyan on the planet, and because both Cretos and Axmir are both power hungry bastards, Axmir convinced Cretos to marry Clara, get her pregnant, and then turn the baby over to him so that he could absorb Gurki’s power; however, they didn’t do their homework well enough.  They didn’t know that Gurki can only inhabit the body of a full breed female, so instead of pulling Gurki’s dark energy out, Axmir pulled Camilla’s neutral energy out, and everyone knows that once your energy is completely gone, you’re a goner.”  
“So, you’re saying that Cretos let Axmir absorb Camilla’s energy in exchange for getting either full or partial control?”  Goku asked with a lost look on his face.  
“Yes,” King Vegeta confirmed.  “Camilla was just a bargaining chip for Cretos to become more powerful.”  
“But you just said it yourself,” Vegeta countered.  “They didn’t look into Gurki as much as they should’ve.  They thought that because Camilla was a female with Saiyan blood, that she would be possessed by Gurki, so if that had been true, then Axmir would have just taken Gurki’s power and Camilla would still be alive.”  
“Are you trying to defend them?”  King Vegeta said angrily towards his son.  “Whether or not it was an accident doesn’t matter – they thought that they could take the power of one of the strongest Saiyans, but ended up killing my granddaughter as a result,” he snapped.  
“What if they were trying to do what we’re doing?”  Goku asked as he looked down at the floor.  “What if they were trying to take Gurki’s energy from Camilla so that they could contain it just in case she escaped Clara?  What if Cretos thought that when Camilla was born, Gurki would leave Clara’s body and go to the newborn who didn’t have control over her?”  
“And then he told Axmir that he could have Gurki’s energy and control over him in exchange for taking it out of his daughter,” Lenora added.  
“So, who’s controlling whom?”  King Vegeta speculated.  “Clara said that she had never seen Cretos that strong before when he was fighting Kakarot, so it might be logical to say that Cretos and Axmir are sharing power.”  
“If they were sharing power, then why would Cretos have called for Axmir to bind us?”  Vegeta questioned.  “That binding that Axmir put on us drained our energy out, remember?  The energy that was being drained from us was most likely going into the staff.”  
“What if they made a deal to where Cretos would give Axmir any Saiyan energy that he wanted in exchange for power?”  Goku pondered.  
“But there’s no darkness in you,” Lenora told Goku.  “Axmir only takes dark energy.”  
“Which might be why Vegeta and I felt the effects and you didn’t,” King Vegeta stated.  “Both of us have dark energy, I’m sure, but you’re as good as they come.”  
“I say we just steal the staff from him and order him to tell us what kind of deal they made,” Vegeta scoffed.  
“Okay, son,” King Vegeta began with annoyance in his voice.  “And how exactly are we going to steal the staff if he always has it on him?”  
“Hey, you,” Vegeta said toward Lenora.  “Do you and Axmir have the same abilities?”  
“Sort of,” Lenora answered.  “However, I can only use my powers except for teleportation in other dimensions, and he can only use his on the physical plane.”  
“I have an idea,” Vegeta said as a smirk came across his face.  
Back on the physical plane in the throne room where Clara and her husband once ruled together, the corrupt King Cretos sat in the throne on the right side, and the one next to him remained empty.  
            “Here you are, sire,” Axmir said as he walked up, knelt down, and handed Cretos a drink.  
            “Thank you very much, Axmir,” he replied as he took the drink form Axmir’s hand.  
“So, have you thought of what to do with the prisoners?”  Axmir questioned.  
“Somewhat,” Cretos replied.  “The only two that I’m making sure stay alive are Kali and the man she cheated on me with.  I’m not quite sure what to do with the other two.”  
“Might I suggest execution?”  Axmir suggested in a soft tone.  
“No,” Cretos snapped, “that’s too good for them.  How’s the project coming along?”  
“Just fine, sire,” Axmir replied.  “It should be done by the time the new Saiyan is born.”  
“That doesn’t help, Axmir,” Cretos replied.  “We have no idea how far along she is – she could be eight months for all we know.  Saiyan women hardly show, remember?  I suggest you get it finished as soon as possible.”  
“Yes, sire,” Axmir replied before bowing to the Sroidian King and walking out of the throne room.  
 _Everything is going according to plan,_ Cretos thought as he took a sip of the drink that Axmir had brought him.  _As soon as Axmir is finished with the project, everything else will just fall into place._  
            As Clara laid wide awake in the queen sized bed, she heard a knock at the door.  
            “Can I come in?”  Vegeta asked as he knocked on the door.  
            “If you want,” Clara emotionlessly replied.  When Vegeta walked into the room, he noticed his twin sister lying emotionless and still on the bed, and he could tell that she was trying to hold back tears.  “She lied to me,” Clara said in disbelief as her brother stood by the closed door.  “My whole life.  She lied to me.”  
“All of that hardly matters now,” Vegeta said bluntly.  “Come on.  We need you for this.”  
“For what?”  Clara said curiously as she sat up in the bed and leaned against the headboard.  
“Stop asking questions and come on,” Vegeta barked as he grabbed her right hand and pulled her out of the bed.  “We might have a way to get Axmir to tell us what he and Cretos did.”  Without argument, Clara followed her brother out into the living room, and once she was told of the plan, she happily agreed to it, and the five of them began preparing.  
            “Are you sure this will work?”  Goku asked with skepticism.  
“It better,” Vegeta said as the last part of their plan came to fruition.  
            “It will,” Lenora said with positivity.  “It definitely will.”   
Two hours later, Vegeta’s plan went into action, and Clara went into labor, and as the three Saiyans helped her, Goku couldn’t help but to worry.  
“Are you sure this isn’t going to hurt Hope?”  He whispered as he leaned over to Vegeta.  
“Yes, Kakarot,” Vegeta said as he turned to glare at him, “I’m sure.  Now, shut the hell up.”  
Filled with anger, pain, and annoyance, Clara leaned up and grabbed her brother and Goku by their tops and pulled them close to her.  “How about you both shut the hell up before I cut your dammed heads off?!”  She yelled – filling both Saiyans with fear and effectively shutting them up.  Finally, after roughly thirty minutes, Hope was born, wrapped in King Vegeta’s cape, and placed on Clara’s chest.  
“Any minute now,” King Vegeta said as he looked at the newborn, who was quietly crying on Clara’s chest, and as he predicted, after ten minutes went by, Axmir made his way into the prison cell where the Saiyans were.  He forcibly held all of the Saiyans except for the exhausted Clara and the newborn against the walls, and as he grabbed the newborn, causing her to let out a blood curling scream, Axmir felt the tight hold of someone behind him.  
“Gotcha,” Lenora said as she shifted out of a roach and into her Sroid form before quickly transporting him to the other dimension she had created earlier.  
“Well, well,” Clara said as she saw Axmir fall to her feet.  “It seems that my brother was right – power hungry fools always lower their guard,” she chuckled.   
            “What the hell?!”  He yelled as Clara put her right foot on him and looked at another Lenora and Clara.  “You two were just in the cell with the newborn monkey on you!”  
            “Wrong,” Vegeta said as Lenora brought the other three Saiyans to the other dimension.  As Axmir saw the three Saiyans arrive, and the two Lenora’s standing side by side, he became infuriated and attempted to use the staff on his back, but it turned out to be useless.  
            “You can’t do anything in here,” Lenora told him.  “We aren’t on the physical plane anymore.  This is _my_ world.”  
“How the hell?”  He struggled to say as Clara increased the pressure on his back.  
“I’ll allow my brother to explain since it was his genius idea,” Clara proudly said.  
            “We knew that we weren’t going to be able to lure you here without making you drop your guard, and I had a hunch that you are after Saiyan energy, or more specifically, you’re after Gurki’s energy, so I had a feeling that you were keeping us alive until Clara had the full-blooded Saiyan that Gurki would inhabit.  Now, if this plan didn’t work, then nothing would have happened to Clara or her unborn child.  First, I had Lenora make a clone of herself because the real Lenora has to stay in this room, otherwise the dimension will close.  Then, I had her make a clone of Clara, and because she made a clone of Clara, there was also a clone of her unborn child.  So now, there were two Lenoras and two Claras.  Next, I had the cloned Lenora take the real Clara to the prison cell, bring our clones back to this dimension and get rid of them.  Now, in the prison, there was only the real Clara, and in this dimension, there was only the real Lenora, the cloned Lenora, the real us, and the cloned Clara.  Because I knew that Lenora has the same abilities as you, I knew she could alter time just like you did when you came to Earth.  I had her speed up the time in this dimension to nine months and ten days, which also sped up the pregnancy of the cloned Clara.  Once we knew she went into labor, I had the cloned Lenora take the three of us and the cloned Clara to the prison cell, take the real Clara back to the real Lenora, come back, and shapeshift so that when you came in and attacked us, which I had a feeling you would, she wouldn’t be sensed or detected.  Then, as you know, the cloned Lenora caught you off your guard when you went for the cloned Clara’s newborn, and now we’re all here.”  
            “Kudos to you,” Axmir chuckled as he knew there was nothing he could do in the dimension that was made by Lenora.  “What would you have done if I hadn’t shown up?”  
            “We had a plan for that as well,” King Vegeta began.  “If you didn’t show up within an hour, then we would have had the cloned Lenora get rid of the cloned Clara and newborn, bring us back here, and then rethink our strategy, but luckily for us, everything went as planned.  Clara, grab his staff.”  Doing as her father told her, Clara bent down and grabbed the staff, but of course, she was met with some resistance from Axmir.   
“I may not be able to use my power in here, but I can still use my fists,” he said as he shot up from the floor and struck Clara on the left side of her head which caused the other three Saiyans to jump in and defend her.  Thirty-seconds went by, and Axmir was caught by the Saiyans.  
“You may be the most powerful deity out there, but in here, all you can do is flail your arms angrily,” Vegeta chuckled.  “Clara, grab his staff,” Vegeta reordered his sister, and as the Saiyans held him tightly, Clara grabbed the staff from Axmir’s back.  
            “So,” she said as she turned to Lenora, “how does this thing work?”  
            “As long as you have the staff on your person, you can control him and make him do and tell you whatever you want,” Lenora began to explain.  “Long ago, when he took it from me, he tethered his energy to it, so he’s at the complete mercy of the one who holds it.”  
“Nice,” Clara said in awe as she looked at the staff in her right hand.  “Tell me, what kind of deal did you make with Cretos?”  She asked.  
“I know nothing of a deal made with Cretos,” Axmir answered causing confusion on the Saiyans’ faces.  
“Is he able to lie when I ask him?”  Clara said as she turned to Lenora.  
“No,” she shook her head as she looked to be in just as much shock as the others, “it shouldn’t be possible for him to lie.”  
“Tell me the truth,” Clara restated as she went to ask Axmir again.  “What kind of deal did you make with King Cretos Erebus?”  
“I know nothing of a deal,” he said again in the same tone as before.  
“Are you controlling King Cretos Erebus?”  She asked him, changing from the question that she clearly wasn’t going to get an answer to.  
“No,” he quietly answered.  
“Is King Cretos Erebus controlling you?”  She asked.  
“Yes,” he answered honestly.  
“How is King Cretos Erebus controlling you?”  She said sounding relived that she finally had an answer to one of her questions.  
“The staff,” he answered.  
“But the staff is right here in my hands,” Clara reminded him.  “How can he be controlling you if he doesn’t have the staff?”  
“There’s another staff,” he replied.  “The other staff is not complete yet.”  
“Why isn’t it complete?”  Clara asked him.  
“It was to hold the power of Gurki once the newborn arrived,” he began.  “I was to absorb Gurki’s dark energy into my staff, and then split it with King Cretos Erebus.”  
“How could he have known that I would be pregnant?”  Clara asked.  “He didn’t find out I was pregnant until he came to Earth to try to bring me back, and I highly doubt that it was enough heads-up to get you to create a new staff when you were even on Earth yourself.”  
“It was created before we came to Earth,” he answered.  
“Then who’s power was it meant to hold?!”  Clara yelled as she became aggravated.  “If there’s no dark, Saiyan energy on Erebus, then how were you planning on getting it?!”  
“The new staff was to be filled with Gurki’s energy once the newborn was born,” he restated himself.  
“How could you have known about the newborn before she was even conceived?”  Clara asked as she moved closer to Axmir.  “Tell me everything.  Now!”  She ordered.  
            “King Cretos Erebus took a broken piece of my staff handle and ordered me to kill Princess Camilla Erebus and take Gurki’s energy as my own because he feared that Gurki would take over her.  After I did what I was ordered to do, we realized that Gurki hadn’t gotten in the newborn’s body, so from there, we figured that she could only take over full blooded Saiyans; however, Princess Camilla’s neutral energy was absorbed into my staff and resulted in her turning to ash.  Knowing that Gurki was still inside of you, he ordered me to find you and take Gurki’s energy from you.  However, you left the planet too quickly.  The day you left and headed to Earth, I went to go after you, but King Cretos Erebus ordered me to stop and wait for his plan to unfold.  King Cretos Erebus had me go to Earth, brain wash a group of scientists, and turn them into killing machines that could be controlled by King Cretos Erebus.  He had me fill their heads with all the memories of everything done by the Saiyans, complete knowledge of the Saiyans, scientific knowledge, and a false past.  Under control by King Cretos Erebus, he had them cause a rift in the atmosphere which caused your ship to crash.  Then, he ordered them to do whatever it took to get Gurki to flee your body, and the only way that Gurki would flee your body was if you were dead or on the brink of death.  Knowing that the Saiyans on Earth were the righteous type, he knew they’d do whatever it took to contain Gurki again, so he knew that a new Saiyan host would be born and act as her host.  Once we got word that Gurki left your body, I was ordered to make a new staff and wait for the newborn to become possessed so that I could take Gurki’s energy from her.”  
            “That son of a bitch,” Clara said in disbelief to herself as shock was written on everyone except Axmir’s faces.  “That son of a bitch planned all of it.  My crash, my torture, hell, even my unborn child!  He planned _everything!_ And all you were to him was a chess piece,” she said in disgust.  “Can he still control you?” She asked.  
“Not while I’m in this dimension,” Axmir answered.  “I can only be controlled if I’m in the same dimension of the person who is holding my staff or a part of my staff.  In here, you can control me, but he can’t, but on the physical plane, both of you would be able to control me.”  
“Do you regret it?”  Clara asked with tears in her eyes.  “Tell me, honestly, do you regret killing my daughter?!”  
“No,” he replied bluntly and honestly, causing the tears to start streaming down Clara’s face.  
“Why not?”  She asked in between her sniffling.  
“We were protecting Planet Erebus,” he answered.  
“Erebus wasn’t in any danger!”  Clara yelled.  “I had Gurki under complete control!”  
“King Cretos Erebus feared that Gurki would leave your body for the princess’ body and destroy the world.  It was a risk that we had to take in order to protect everyone on this planet,” Axmir replied.  
“If that’s what it was really about, then why would he plan to have Gurki flee my body and have you steal her energy once she takes over my newborn daughter?”  Clara demanded to know.  
“King Cretos Erebus wants to protect the planet with Gurki’s energy,” Axmir answered.  “He also promised me half of it and to let me out of his control.”  
“Father,” Clara said as she looked at King Vegeta who was holding Axmir from behind, “move.  Now,” she ordered.  “Vegeta.  Goku.  Stay right where you are,” she ordered the two Saiyans who were standing on each side of the Sroidian God.  Quickly, Clara bolted towards Axmir with the rod end pointed toward him and as she got close enough, she drove the rod through his heart and out of his back – causing everyone to look at her in shock and disbelief.  “My children are not a pawn for your and my husband’s sick game,” she said angrily in his left heart as she felt the last breath of him escape.  “Enjoy your freedom,” she said in disgust as she pulled the staff out of him, and he lifelessly fell to the floor.


	33. Erebus Saga - Part 3

  **Part 3 - This is My War**

**"** **When one has nothing to lose, one becomes courageous. We are timid only when there is something we can still cling to." - Don Juan**

 

In shock and disbelief, the three Saiyans and Lenora looked at Clara who was overcome with anger, grief, and pain as she held the staff in her hand and looked at Axmir who was lying lifelessly on the floor.   
            _Did she just…kill a God?_ Vegeta wondered as he looked at the blood soaked staff handle in his sister’s hand.  
            “Kali,” Lenora said quietly as she looked at the God that was seemingly dead, “you shouldn’t have done that.”  
            “I avenged my daughter,” Clara replied as she looked at the deceased God in disgust.  “He killed her, and I avenged her.”  
“No,” Lenora said as she grabbed onto Clara and pulled her back.  “You shouldn’t have done that!”  Hearing Lenora yell for the first time in her life caught Clara by surprise and sent a wave of fear through her body.  “You don’t know what you’ve done!  We need to get out of here!”  
“No!”  Clara yelled through her tears as she snatched her arm away from Lenora.  “Tell me what’s wrong!”  She demanded.  
“You’ve just given him the power of a million Saiyans,” Lenora said quietly – bringing shock and fear to the faces of the Saiyans.   
“Huh?  What’re you -,” Clara began before being cut off.  
            “Clara, look,” King Vegeta said as he pointed to the ground and backed away from Axmir.  On the ground, where Axmir had been lying face down and dead, his body began moving, and as it caught the attention of the young Saiyan, she went to drive the rod back through him, but she was stopped when Lenora stood in her way.   
“Move,” Clara ordered her.  “He’s not dead yet.”  
“And he’s not going to be, Kali,” Lenora replied.  “You can’t kill a God that easily, especially him.  Think about it, he’s the God of Darkness – he is the dark.  You can’t get rid of the dark.  All you’ve done is make him even stronger than before.”  
“What?”  She said in shock as she backed up from the group of Saiyans who were trying to control him and Lenora who was trying to block Clara.  
“When you stabbed the end of the rod into his heart, you released all of the energy that was in the staff into him, so now, he can’t be controlled by the staff because the energy that linked him to it is now back inside him,” Lenora explained.  “It’s a fail-safe that I made when I made the staff,” she said quietly.  
            “It was all part of my plan,” Axmir laughed as he struggled to get up from the Saiyans.  “You see, foolish girl, I know you and knew how you’d react when you found out the truth, so because I knew that my sister had added that little feature when she created it, all I had to do was let you control me to the point that I told you the truth and angered you until you drove it into my body to try to kill me. As you did, the energy was released into me, and I became free of my bond to it, so now, while Cretos can still control me on the physical plane with the other staff, you can’t control me here nor there.  That staff is nothing but an empty container now.  I _am_ the staff,” he laughed as he managed to get the Saiyans off of him.   
“If you knew that you could absorb the energy by getting stabbed by the rod, then why not just do it yourself?!”  Clara yelled.  “Why make me do it?!”  
“Because it doesn’t work like that,” he laughed as he held the wound on his chest. “It won’t work if I stab myself with it – now, _that_ would kill me.  Someone else has to do it.  Now, if you were smart, you would’ve used it to control and ordered me to kill your husband, but I can see that you aren’t.”  
“You’re still powerless in here,” Lenora told him.  
“Yes,” he agreed, “that may be true.  I may not be able to use my powers that I have gained from all the energy that’s been collected, but now I’ve regained complete control of myself – at least in dimension.  Now, on the physical plane, not so much.”  
            “Great, so all we have to do is leave your ass in here and beat you until you die,” Vegeta said in anger as he glared at Axmir.  
“I’m afraid that won’t work, dear prince,” Axmir replied in a condescending tone.  “My sister and I have the same powers except opposite.  The powers that she’s able to use on the physical plane, I’m able to use here.  For example, the only abilities that she can use on the physical plane are her shapeshifting and teleportation, and the opposite is for me.  The only abilities that I can use in other dimensions is teleportation and shapeshifting.  She can use all of her abilities in other dimensions while I can use mine on the physical plane.  We are the exact opposites of each other, so if I wanted to, I could poof out of here whenever.”  
“You planned this,” King Vegeta said quietly and angrily.  
“Down to the last detail,” Axmir replied as he turned towards the Saiyan King with a smirk.  “After all, darkness _does_ overshadow the light,” he chuckled.  With a snap of his fingers, Axmir left the dimension, completely filled with the power of a million Saiyans and left the four Saiyans and Lenora in the other dimension in complete fear and shock.  
“That was our only chance,” Clara said quietly as she fell to her knees.  “That was our only chance to try to control him, and I blew it.”  
“Yeah, and now he has control over himself and so does Cretos,” Vegeta added on, making his sister feel even worse.  
“It’s unlikely that Cretos will have control over him for long,” Lenora added.  “Remember their deal?  Cretos would give Axmir his complete freedom in exchange for half of Gurki’s power, and now that Axmir has his freedom from one of the staffs, the second that the baby is born, he’ll have freedom from the other one that Cretos has.”  
“So, he linked himself to two staffs?”  Goku asked as he seemed to be lost in everything that had just happened.  
“Yes,” Lenora confirmed.  “In the beginning, Cretos got a piece of the original staff, the one right here, and he used it to control Axmir because he was already linked to it.  But then, Cretos had Axmir make another staff and link himself to that one as well.”  
“Yeah, well, he had the original staff on his back the entire time, so wouldn’t he be able to control himself?”  Goku said skeptically.  
“He probably truthfully didn’t have control over himself until he came into the cell because Cretos likely still had the broken piece that he took in the beginning,” Lenora said.  “Cretos probably gave the broken piece back when Axmir went to steal the cloned Clara’s newborn.”  
 “But why would Cretos give him the broken part of his staff back?”  Vegeta questioned.  “What sense does that make?”  
“One, because Cretos thought that when he got word that Kali was going into labor, that he’d be getting half of Gurki’s energy, so he probably decided to give the broken piece back to Axmir as a down-payment – freeing him from that bond – and he was probably going to let Axmir free himself from the other staff the moment that he got his part of Gurki’s energy.  And Cretos still has that other staff, so he didn’t fear losing control of Axmir in case something happened,” Lenora explained.  
“Then why go through all this?”  King Vegeta asked.  “Why piss Clara off to the point that she stabbed him?”  
“Because he’s afraid,” Lenora said.  “He’s afraid that someone else will take his staff, or a part of it like Cretos did, and use it to control him, so because he knew about the fail-safe, he wanted to get stabbed with it so that he could absorb the energy, and at the same time, he could hurt Clara even more.”  
“So, as soon as Clara’s baby is born, Cretos will free Axmir from the second staff, but because he absorbed all the energy from the first one, there will be no way to control him?”  Vegeta speculated.  
“Most likely, what will happen is that Kali’s baby will be born, Gurki will inhabit the newborn’s body, Axmir – while being control by the second staff by Cretos, will be ordered to steal the baby and bring her to Cretos.  Then, because he knows that if he hands over the full staff to Axmir, he’ll lose all control, Cretos will break a piece off of the new staff, if he hasn’t already, and command Axmir to use the big staff to steal Gurki’s energy.  Then, once Gurki’s energy is in the staff, Cretos will command him to hand it over, and then he’ll command Axmir to free himself from the staff, thus giving Cretos Gurki’s power and Axmir his freedom, and because Axmir no longer has a physical staff, he’ll probably make a new one, put half of Gurki’s energy in it, and then quickly find someone to stab him with it so that he can absorb it.”  
“So we need to get that second staff from Cretos,” Vegeta deduced.  “If we can get our hands on that second staff, then we can at least have partial control over him.”  
            Clara, who was still sitting on the floor, began to laugh as she figured out the major flaw in Cretos and Axmir’s giant plan.  Causing the others to look at her, she began laughing harder and louder.  
            “They’re all so stupid!”  She laughed.  “How stupid can they be _that_ stupid?”  
            “What’re you talking about?”  Goku asked her curiously.  “Seems like they have a pretty good plan to me.”  
“Aren’t you all forgetting?”  She said as she wiped a tear away from laughing so much.  “Gurki can’t leave Earth,” she chuckled.  “It doesn’t matter if I’m here for the next eight months and have her here, Gurki can’t leave Earth.”  
            “Oh my God,” King Vegeta said as he realized that they had all forgotten that Gurki can’t leave the planet that she left her host’s body on.  
“We don’t need to worry about getting the second staff,” Clara said as she picked up the original staff that was next to her and stood up.  “We need to get back to Earth, let Gurki get in Hope’s body, and then use this staff to steal Gurki’s power.  Then, we can bring the fight to them.”  
“How are we supposed to get back to Earth if we can’t even leave a prison cell?”  Vegeta asked with skepticism, causing a smile to appear on Clara’s face.  
“We fight our way out,” she said with confidence.  “Lenora, how much time do we have left before this dimension closes?”  
“About eighteen hours,” she answered.  
“That’s plenty of time to come up with a battle plan,” Clara said with a smirk.  
“What’re you planning on doing?”  Goku asked with concern in his voice.  
“Simple,” Clara replied as she walked over to the couch and sat on it.  “Axmir just gave us a weapon.  When our daughter is born, Gurki will inhabit her – we know that to be a fact.  However, we aren’t going to tether her to Hope.  Instead, I’ll use this staff, absorb Gurki’s energy, and then get one of you to stab me with it so that I can become my own personal staff just like Axmir, and Gurki’s energy will be back in my body again.  I know how to control her, so we won’t have to worry about her taking over Hope.  Then, once we come back here, I’ll take the dark energy from Axmir and use it against him and Cretos.”  
“Absolutely not,” King Vegeta snapped.  “Taking Gurki’s energy – fine.  I trust you know what you’re doing, but as for the rest of it, no way.  You’ll become submerged in darkness.”  
“Not necessarily,” Lenora butted in.  “Not as long as there’s just enough light energy in her.  Darkness may overshadow the light, but enough light can break through the darkness.”  
“Then have Kakarot do it,” Vegeta ordered.  “He’s probably the purest one here.”  
“He has too _much_ light energy,” Lenora informed them.  “Too much light can be a bad thing as well.  If there’s too much light energy, then it will be harder to use the dark energy.  And the same goes for you two,” she said as she looked at Vegeta and his father.  “Deep down, there’s more darkness than light, so it’s likely that the two of you would end up like Axmir.  But right now,” she continued, “there’s just enough light and dark inside of Kali.”  
“Alright, Clara,” King Vegeta sighed, giving in to Lenora and his daughter, “what’s your plan?”  
“Simple,” she chuckled.  “This whole time, we’ve been screwing up by overthinking everything, so this time, we’re going to stay simple.  Lenora is going to take us all back to the prison cell, shapeshift into an unnoticeable creature – like a worm or ant, make her way to Cretos’ castle, find the other staff that’s being used to control Axmir, and command him to undo whatever he’s doing to the door.  From there, if Goku can use his instant transmission or communicate with King Kai, then that would be the best bet; however, if for some reason he can’t, then we’ll have to sneak out and steal one of the kingdom’s ships.”  
“If Kakarot uses his instant transmission, then it won’t take them long to realize that we’re gone,” Vegeta said.  “They’ll probably chase after us to Earth once they realize it, and if we steal one of the ships, they’re going to know right away.”  
“I think I may have a way to fool-proof it,” Lenora said.  “I’ll create clones of all of us while we’re still here, and then I’ll have my cloned-self take the real you’s back to the cell.  From there, I’ll have my cloned-self get the staff and command Axmir to undo the door.  Once he’s done what he’s been told, if Goku is able to use his instant transmission, then the real me with the clones will come to the cell, and the real me and the real ones of you will go back to Earth – leaving all of the clones in the cell.”  
“But didn’t you say that the clones will only stay active for twenty-four hours?”  Goku questioned.  
“Everything I create will stay active for twenty-four hours,” she specified. “So, yes, even the clones.”  
“Well then, they’ll notice after twenty-four hours are up, and they’ll bolt to Earth,” Vegeta said with anger in his voice.  
“Not if we’re back before then,” Clara said hesitantly.  “You can speed up time on Earth, right?”  She asked Lenora.  “If you and Axmir have the same abilities, then you should be able to do that too.”  
“As long as we’re in another dimension,” she restated.  “I can’t use any of my powers except for shapeshifting and transporting between different dimensions on the physical plane.  
“So then once we’re back on Earth, almost immediately, you’ll create a new dimension and speed up the time to nine months and ten days,” Clara said with a sigh.  “And the real me this time, not the fake me, will have Hope, and as soon as she’s born, you have thirty seconds to take us back to the physical plane.  It worked with the clone, so it should work with the real me as well.”  
“That plan will only work if Kakarot can use his instant transmission,” King Vegeta reminded them.  “If we have to steal a ship from the kingdom, then there will be no fooling them.  I don’t think they’re _that_ stupid – at least I hope not.”  
“Well, if it comes to that, then they’ll definitely beat us there, but the only place they know to look is Capsule Corp, remember?”  Clara said.  
“What if we used the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?” Goku quietly suggested.  
“The what?”  Clara asked as she looked at him with a puzzled face.  
“It’s a room on that lookout that I took you to when Dende healed you,” Goku explained.  “One day outside is equal to a year in there.”  
“You would only have thirty seconds to get out,” Vegeta reminded him.  “Do you honestly think that she’s going to want to move that quickly?  And besides, the gravity in there is too much for a newborn,” Vegeta scoffed at Goku’s idea.  “It would crush her bones.”  
“We could just go to this “lookout” and I could do what I was going to do in the first place,” Lenora said causally.  
“Vegeta’s right, I don’t want her little bones crushed,” Clara said as she sided with her brother.  “So then, it’s settled.  If we can use instant transmission and keep them fooled for a day, we’ll go to Earth, create another dimension, speed up the time, and I’ll have Hope.  Hopefully less than thirty seconds later, Lenora will bring us back to the physical plane and I can take Gurki’s energy out of Hope and then rest for the remainder of the time until we have to go back – that’s Plan “A”.  Plan “B” is that if we have to steal a ship, then we’ll go to the lookout, do the time thing, and then since they’ll be after us, we’ll have to come back to Erebus almost immediately after I take Gurki’s energy from Hope.”  
“Aren’t we forgetting one thing?”  King Vegeta butted in.  “What’re we going to do with the newborn?  We can’t very well bring her into a battle.”  
“Bulma can watch her,” Vegeta suggested as he volunteered Bulma for the job of watching the newborn Saiyan.  
“That’s not the issue, Vegeta,” the Saiyan King replied to his son.  “A newborn _needs_ their mother to get their food – she can’t just leave her there and go off into battle.”  
“You are _not_ keeping me out of this,” Clara snapped at her father.  “This is _my_ war.”  
“What’s more important to you?”  King Vegeta snapped back at his daughter.  “Fighting in a battle or the life of your daughter?  _You_ are her food source – she can’t eat without you there.”  
“They have artificial stuff on Earth,” Vegeta told his father.  “She’ll be fine.  I’m sure that Bulma can figure out how to use it.”  
“Artificial,” he scoffed.  “Leave it to the humans.”  
“Quick question,” Lenora interrupted in the arguing Saiyans.  “Why don’t we just steal the second staff and command Axmir to kill Cretos instead of going through all this?”  
“Think about it,” Clara began.  “Don’t you think that Cretos will have a broken piece of the second staff like he did the first?  If he does, then he would just command Axmir to stop when we sent him after him, then an all-out war would happen, and even if it did work, how would we deal with Axmir?  And also, _I_ want to be the one to end him, but I have no chance of doing that without Gurki’s power at the very least.”  
“I guess I get it,” Lenora said quietly.  “But what if there isn’t a broken piece of the second staff?”  
“Fine,” Clara scoffed.  “If the staff has no chipped or broken parts on it, then I’ll have cloned Lenora take it, command Axmir to kill Cretos and then let us all out; however, if it does have a broken piece on it, then we are to go with the original plan.”   
“Deal,” Lenora agreed.  “Are we ready?”  She asked as the Saiyans appeared to come to an agreement.  
“Yes,” Clara said in a determined tone as she turned to look at Lenora.  Immediately, Lenora made clones of all the Saiyans and herself; however, she made sure to make Clara’s clone while Clara didn’t have the staff on her so that there wouldn’t be another staff.  “Alright,” Clara said as all the clones were made.  “Make sure to bring me the staff when you come to meet up with us,” she reminded Lenora.  After agreeing, the cloned Lenora took the real Saiyans back to the physical plane where they appeared in the cell.  “Okay, now go find the second staff,” she told the cloned Lenora.  
“It might take me a little while to get there in such a small form,” she warned Clara before she shapeshifted.  
“It’s fine.  Just go as quick as you can.  If the staff has no broken or chipped parts, command Axmir to kill Cretos and then let us out, but if the staff has a broken or chipped piece, come back and say, ‘Plan “A”’,” Clara ordered.  Immediately, Lenora turned herself into an ant, the fastest yet smallest creature she could come up with, made her way through the crack between the door and the floor, and headed towards the castle to look for the other staff.  
            “Do you really believe this will work?”  Vegeta asked his sister.  
            “I have to,” Clara replied quietly.  “It’s not just me I’m trying to save.”  
            “Hey,” Goku said quietly as he leaned over to Clara, “how do we even know for sure that it’s a girl?”  
The question that had yet to be asked caught everyone by surprise, and immediately, Clara began to wonder if Bulma’s “miracle drug” actually worked.  
“Didn’t you take that drug that Bulma gave you?”  Clara asked him as she looked at him with worry.  
“Well, yeah,” he answered, “but what are the odds that it didn’t work?”  
            “Don’t think like that, Kakarot,” King Vegeta ordered.  “If this child isn’t a girl, then the world is doomed.”  
“He isn’t being _too_ unreasonable,” Vegeta butted in.  “There could be a chance that it didn’t work, but after all, Bulma is a brilliant scientist, so there’s a good chance that it _did_ work.”  
“Yeah,” Clara said quietly as she hugged her knees to her chest and laid her right cheek on her right knee – successfully looking away from everyone.  
“Hey,” Goku said quietly as he reached out his right hand to grab her right shoulder, “are you -,”  
“Leave her alone,” Vegeta said, cutting Goku’s words and actions off.  _I don’t think I’ve ever seen her scared like this,_ he thought as he looked at his balled up sister.  “So,” Vegeta began towards his sister as he tried to get her mind off of what was scaring her so badly, “is that how you were able to withstand the gravity room?”  He asked.  
“Yeah,” Clara replied quietly.  “Lenora used to make me training rooms with up to five-hundred and fifty times gravity whenever I would ask her for extra training.”  _Thank you,_ she thought as she realized that he was trying to get her mind off of her fear.  “I’m sorry,” she added quietly and she continued to look away from everyone.  
“For what?”  Goku asked her.  “You haven’t done anything.”  
“If I had never run away to come and find you guys, then none of this would be happening,” she said quietly in anger.  
“You do realize that Cretos and or Axmir probably would have killed you by now for Gurki’s power don’t you?”  King Vegeta reminded his daughter.  
“So what?”  She scoffed.  “At least I’d be with my daughter.”  
“You _are_ with your daughter,” Vegeta reminded her as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.  
“You know what I mean,” she replied in an emotionless tone.  “My two-day old little girl was happy and playful, and now all that’s left of her because of her father’s doing is ash.”  
“And when I get my hands on that son of a bitch, he’ll regret every breath he’s ever taken,” King Vegeta said casually.  
“You mean when _I_ get my hands on him,” Clara said with anger.  “I don’t care what it takes, I _will_ kill him and Axmir; however, there is one thing that’s worrying me.”  
“What’s that?”  Vegeta wondered as he opened his eyes and turned his attention to his younger twin sister.  
            “In case this unfolds like I think it is, we’re going to need an army,” she began.  “Because Cretos is the king, he has his own personal military, and there’s no way we’ll be able to take them all down.  I don’t care what Super Saiyan you are or how strong your attacks are – they have strength in numbers, and chances are he won’t fight until his military is taken out.”  
            “What do you suggest we do?”  King Vegeta asked his daughter.  
“We need to get back to this planet before the clones disappear,” Clara began, “then, I’ll have Lenora keep making clones and sending them to the cell until we are completely ready for the battle.  I may still have some underground connections, but they’ll take time to work out, and since our military is at their civil war with each other, we’ll have to raise a new military – I was thinking one made out of the civilians.”  
            “You want to make a _civilian_ military?”  Vegeta asked in shock and confusion as all three of the other Saiyans looked at her.  “And didn’t Lenora say that she can only make twenty-four hour clones every two days?”  
“Yes,” she confirmed.  “While I do what I have to do, the three of you will secretly work on recruiting civilians to be a part – just make sure they’re on my side first.  And that doesn’t mean she can’t have a stockpile of them and then just send them down to the cell when they’re needed.”  
“They’re civilians,” King Vegeta reminded his daughter, “they don’t have a clue how to fight in a war.”  
“Just recruit them, and I’ll take it from there,” Clara ordered the three of them.  
“Whatever you say,” Vegeta scoffed.  “I don’t see how you think this is going to work – we could just blast the planet.”  
“No way,” Clara shook her head.  “This planet is gorgeous when it’s not being overrun by a corrupted king.  The amount of innocents greatly outweighs the evil and corrupt, and besides, I’m going to keep it – it’s my planet too, so I don’t want too much damage caused.  There’s no reason we can’t fight without blowing things up.”  
            “What do you mean you’re gonna keep it?”  Goku asked with confusion.  “Are you moving back here once this is all done?”  
“No,” she confirmed.  “We’re having a daughter together, and I’d never take her away from you. The Earth is my home now. I have other plans in mind for Erebus,” she said with a smile.  “We just have to get this planet back and get rid of all of the evil first.”  
            As a cold and dark three hours went by, everyone except for Clara had all fallen asleep due to their hunger and exhaustion.  However, Clara found herself anxious, scared, and determined.  As she sat against the back wall and looked at the door in front of her that no one was able to bust down, Goku sat on her left, her father sat on her right, and her brother sat across form her in the right corner next to the door.  
            _If all goes as planned, I’ll be a mother again in just a few hours – maybe even minutes,_ she thought as she looked down at her shaking hands.  _This is how it felt before I had Camilla – the shaking, the anxiety, the anticipation, the fear, and also the happiness._   Suddenly, while the three Saiyans were sleeping and while Clara was wide awake with her thoughts running through her head, the door that was impossible to open, opened from the outside, and on the other side of the door stood the cloned Lenora with the other staff and Axmir, who was in her control. “Oh my God, you did it!”  Clara exclaimed, waking the three sleeping Saiyans up.  As the Saiyans woke up, they looked at the open door that led into the dark, stone hallway and saw an aggravated Axmir and smiling cloned Lenora.  
            “Plan “A”,” Lenora said with certainty.  
 _Just as I thought,_ Clara thought.  _Cretos is too smart to just leave a staff lying around.  Of course he’d keep a piece of it on him._  
“Goku, are you able to use your instant transmission?”  Lenora asked Goku.  
            “Hang on just a sec,” Goku said hopefully as he put his index and middle finger up to his forehead.  “Yes,” he said after a few seconds.  “Just barely, but I can sense Piccolo and Gohan’s energy.”  
“Let’s go,” Clara said hesitantly as she looked at her brother and father.   
“Now,” Lenora said as she began to give Axmir another command.  “Forget all about this, take this staff back to the throne room, and go about your business.”  Once Lenora handed Axmir the staff, he teleported out of the prison and followed out the rest of his orders.  
“Why would you give him that staff?!”  Vegeta asked angrily.  
“If we would’ve take it with us, then they would know that none of us were here,” Clara told him quietly and quickly.  “Now, go get the real Lenora and our clones,” she ordered the cloned Lenora.  
“Right,” she said quietly as she teleported back to the dimension where the real Lenora and the cloned Saiyans were.  
“You guys ready?”  Goku asked as the clones arrived in the cell and the real Saiyans and the real Lenora held onto each other in one way or another.  
“As I’ll ever be,” Clara said quietly and nervously as she took the staff from Lenora.  Leaving behind the Saiyan clones and the cloned Lenora, the four real Saiyans and the real Lenora vanished.  Moments after leaving Erebus, the five of them landed in the center of Goku and his ex-wife, ChiChi’s living room and caused a major interruption between the small get together with Gohan and Piccolo.  _Uh oh,_ Clara thought as she looked around and saw the angry woman looking at her.  _Hm, that must be Goku’s eldest son,_ she concluded as she looked at Gohan looking at her with a puzzled face and his food spilled all over him.   
            “What on Earth are you doing here?!”  ChiChi yelled as the five uninvited and unwanted visitors dropped in literally out of nowhere.   
            “Sorry, ChiChi,” Goku said in a panic.  “I didn’t mean to end up here – I was just following Gohan and Piccolo’s energy.”  
            “Well, you found us,” Piccolo said with aggravation.  “What are the five of you doing?”  He asked.  “And…is that Vegeta’s _dad_?  I thought he was dead!”  
“Long story, no time to explain,” Clara said as she made her way out of the front door.  
“And who is that?”  Piccolo and Gohan questioned.  “Dad, who are these people?”  Gohan asked his father.  
“Long story, no time to explain,” Goku copied Clara as he headed for the door as well – leaving Vegeta, the Saiyan King, and Lenora inside the awkward situation.   
“Does anybody want to tell me what’s going on?”  Gohan questioned.  
“That’s your dad’s new girlfriend,” ChiChi scoffed once Goku and Clara were out of the door.  Feeling awkward, Lenora made her way towards the front door to follow Goku and Clara.  “I really have to go,” she nervously chuckled.  “They really need me right now.  I’ll leave the explaining to these guys,” she said as she volunteered Vegeta and his father to explain what was going on.  
“Yeah right,” Vegeta scoffed as he pushed his way past Lenora and bolted out of the front door.  “I have to train while I still have time.”  In a matter of seconds, Vegeta took to the sky and headed straight for Capsule Corp so that he could train for as long as possible in his gravity room.  
            “Guess it’s up to me then,” King Vegeta said in an irritated tone as he watched everyone else walk out of the awkward situation and leave him inside.  “Alright listen up,” he began as he stood in the center of ChiChi, Gohan, and Piccolo.  “Listen carefully.  I don’t like repeating myself, so I’m only going to say all of this once, and if anyone interrupts or argues with me,” he said as he directed his attention towards ChiChi, “I won’t hesitate blasting you to pieces.  Are we clear?”  Extremely confused and wanting to know what was happening, Gohan and Piccolo nodded their heads in silence while ChiChi turned her attention back to her food and scoffed.    
            Miles away, Clara had flown to a remote field, and she was soon met with Goku and Lenora.  
            _You can do this,_ she thought as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in as the two of them walked up to her.  
            “Are you ready?”  Lenora asked quietly as she grabbed onto Clara’s forearms.   
“I don’t know yet,” Clara said, clearly with fear in her voice.  “Maybe this isn’t the best idea,” she said as she sat down and laid the staff next to her.  “What if something happens?”  
            “Like what?”  Goku asked her as he squatted down in front of her.  
“I don’t know,” she said quietly as she shook her head and looked down to the grass in front of her.  “Something bad?  Anything can go wrong.  Just because it worked flawlessly with the clone, doesn’t mean it’ll be that easy with the real me.”  
“Look at me,” Goku said quietly as he picked up Clara’s chin to get her to look at him.  “Nothing is going to happen,” he assured her as he looked into her eyes and almost looking through them.  “And if anything happens to either one of you, I still have one of these left,” he said as he took the last Senzu Bean out of the bag in his waistband.  
“Alright,” she said quietly.  “Lenora.  Do it,” she ordered still sounding fearful.  Upon the command, Lenora created a new dimension with a queen-sized bed.  Then, a cloned Lenora was sent to get the two Saiyans and bring them to the new dimension.  
“Alright, Kali,” Lenora said as she walked up to Clara, “are you ready?”  
“Hang on a second,” Clara said with her hands beginning to shake as she reached into her back pocket.  “Here,” she said as she handed her small red cape to Goku, “I want her wrapped in this,” she said with a nervous smile.  
“Got it,” Goku nodded as he secured the red cape to his waist with his belt.  
“Okay,” Clara said as she set the empty staff on the floor next to her and took a deep breath in and let it out, “go.”  As soon as Clara gave the go-ahead, Lenora used her ability to speed up time which sped up Clara’s pregnancy as well, and suddenly, after a few seconds, two and a half weeks turned into nine months and ten days – causing the female Saiyan to fall to her knees in pain.  
            “We should’ve had her lay down first,” Goku said as he looked up towards Lenora.  “Here,” he said as he picked Clara up and laid her on the bed.  “How long is this going to take?”  He asked as he watched Clara roll around in pain and knowing that he couldn’t do anything to help her.  
            “It depends on the child,” Lenora replied.  “It didn’t take the clone all that long, but we have no idea how long it’ll take the real one.”  
“Couldn’t you have just gone to a point in time to where she was already born?”  Goku asked as he knelt down by the bed and rubbed the top of Clara’s head.  
“It doesn’t work like that,” Lenora told him.  “If I had gone to a year ahead, Kali would have most likely died because her child would have still been inside her, and the pain would have literally killed her.  Children have to be born.  They don’t just exist out of nowhere.  The clone took thirty minutes from the beginning to the end, so let’s hope that she’s the same way.”  
“Yeah,” Goku said quietly as he looked at how much pain Clara was in.  _I’m so sorry,_ he thought as he watched her toss and turn.  
“Kali, let me know when it’s time,” Lenora said as she stayed at the foot of the bed.  
            “Now,” Clara replied almost immediately through her clenched teeth.  
“Okay,” Lenora replied in her calm tone, hoping it would help keep Clara calm.  “Just like with Camilla,” she said as she took Clara’s jeans off.  
“Right,” Clara replied in pain.  “Give me your hand,” she said as she reached her left hand out for Goku’s hand.   
 _This is the real thing,_ Goku realized as Clara grabbed onto his hand and gripped it as tight as she could.  _She’s not a clone._  
“On the count of “three”,” Lenora said as Clara was trying to deal with the pain.  “One…two…three.”  
            After a long, thirty minutes, the first full-blooded female Saiyan in forty-three years was born.  With her father’s skin tone and eye shape, her mother’s straight, black hair that would eventually grow to its final, long length, and her black Saiyan tail, she was the perfect mix of both of her parents.  The second that everything was over, her cry – which gave the indication that she was alive, pierced Clara and Goku’s heart with happiness.  
            “Thirty seconds,” Clara said through her tears and exhaustion.  “Don’t forget the staff.”  
            “Right,” Goku said as he picked up the staff that was lying next to the bed.  Quickly, Lenora created a pair of sweat pants on Clara, and with the newborn still covered in blood in her arms, and Clara being carried by Goku, Lenora transported all four of them out of the dimension and back onto the physical plane.  
            _There,_ Gurki thought as she felt the twenty-second year old’s energy and transported herself to the group that had just shown up.  “How foolish,” she laughed as she walked towards them, still looking like Clara.  “I will once again be a full-blooded Saiyan,” she said with a sadistic grin as she entered the newborn’s body, and as she did, a blood-curling scream was let out and tears began to fill in the parents’ eyes.   
“I had no idea it would hurt her this badly,” Clara said as she tried to hold back her tears.  _How could my father not have known that something had happened to me?_  
“Me neither,” Goku said as she shook his head, unable to help his newborn daughter.  “It’ll be over soon,” he said as he held Clara in his arms and kissed the top of her head.  Soon enough, after ten seconds of the horrific screaming, Gurki freely inhabited Hope’s body.  
 _Finally,_ she thought as she found herself inside a newborn Saiyan female.  _And I’ll be sure not to make the same mistake as last time.  I won’t leave this one until she’s completely dead._  
“You got it?”  Lenora asked as Clara grabbed the staff from Goku and held it over her newborn daughter’s body that Lenora was still holding.  
“Yeah,” she replied quietly.  As the crystal of the staff touched Hope’s body, it began to fill with black energy and inside, Gurki found herself in pain and angry.  
 _What the hell is happening?!_ She angrily asked herself as she began to feel all of her power being siphoned.  Roughly fifteen seconds later, the crystal was filled with black energy, and Gurki’s power became sealed inside of it.   
“Is Hope okay?”  Clara worriedly asked Lenora.  
“Yes,” Lenora said with a smile as she looked at the happy newborn, “she’s perfectly fine.”  
“Thank God,” Clara said as she set the staff back down next to her.  “Let me hold her,” she said with tears filling her eyes.  Without debate, Lenora handed the still bloodied newborn over to Clara, and as Clara held her to her chest, Hope immediately found comfort, and her crying stopped almost completely.  “She’s gorgeous,” Clara smiled as she watched her sleeping daughter.  
“Yeah, she definitely is,” Goku agreed as he laid his hand on top of Hope’s small head.  “Here,” he said as he reached in his belt and pulled the small red cape out and went to hand it to Clara.  
“No,” she said.  “My father wrapped me in it, so it only seems fair that you wrap her in it,” Clara said with a smile as she gently picked Hope up off of her chest and handed her to Goku.  After Goku carefully laid his newborn daughter on his right arm, he grabbed the small cape with his left hand and gently wrapped it around her.  
“We should probably go to Capsule Corp and wash her off,” he said quietly as he looked down at the sleeping newborn and held her close to his chest.  “She’s still covered in blood.”  
            “Hey guys!”  A familiar voice yelled from on top of the mountain that separated the field from the rest of the area.  
“It’s Gohan,” Goku said quietly as he looked up to see his son, Piccolo, and King Vegeta make their way to the site where the four of them were.  
“How’s everything going?”  King Vegeta demanded to know as he walked up behind Goku.  
“Shh,” Goku shushed as he turned around to face the trio with the sleeping newborn in his arms.  “Don’t wake her up.”  
“Oh wow,” Gohan said in shock as he looked at his father holding his new half-sister.  Without saying a word, King Vegeta walked up to his daughter who was almost unconscious on the ground.  “Clara,” he said quietly, “are you alright?”  
“She’s fine,” Goku answered.  “She’s just exhausted.”  
“I’m fine, dad,” she answered as she sat up and looked at the three who had come to join them.  “I’m guessing you got them up to speed?”  
            “Yes, he did,” Piccolo confirmed, “and we’re willing to go with you.  ChiChi won’t allow Goten to go, but you can count Gohan and me in.”  
“Right,” Gohan nodded.  “Hey, uh, do you mind if I hold her?”  Gohan asked his father.  
“Do you care if Gohan -,” Goku began as he turned around to ask Clara.  
“I’m not her only parent,” Clara tiredly replied.  “You can decide if you want him to or not.”  With a smile and no worded reply, Goku gently handed his newborn daughter to his son.  
“I’m sorry, dad,” Gohan said quietly as he looked at the sleeping Hope in his arms.  “I understand everything now, and while I’ll never agree with what you did, I’ll still always support and love you – as well as Clara and my sister.”  
“Hope,” Clara said.  “Her name is Hope.”  
“Hope,” Gohan nodded with a smile as he noted the similarities between Hope and her parents.  “She’s a perfect blend,” he chuckled.  
“Yeah,” Goku grinned.  “I’m just glad she doesn’t have my hair.”  
            Still standing by his daughter, King Vegeta looked at his newborn granddaughter and couldn’t hide the smirk that was coming on his face.  “She’s wearing your cape,” he said proudly.  
“Yeah,” Clara chuckled.  “I had Goku put it on her.”  
“Well, we should probably take her to Capsule Corp and get her washed up and dressed,” he told her.  “It’s pretty chilly out here.  Have you already taken Gurki’s energy out of her?”  
“Yes,” Clara confirmed.  “I’m surprise you didn’t hear it,” she said as she got up and slowly walked over to Goku.  “Ready?”  She asked him as she motioned towards the staff.  
“Oh, right,” he said quietly.  “I forgot about that.”  
“If you don’t want to do it, then I’ll get someone else to,” she offered.  
“No, I got it,” he said as he bent down and picked up the staff with the dark energy in it, “but are you sure you can control this?”  
“Positive,” she confirmed.  “Just do it, and have that Senzu Bean ready,” she said as she closed her eyes.  “Lenora, does it matter where I get stabbed with this?”  
            “No,” Lenora confirmed.  
“Okay,” Clara said with an exhale.  “Do it.”  Without much hesitation, Goku shoved the end of the staff into Clara’s thigh and they all watched as the dark energy that was inside the staff began disappear – clearly making its way into Clara’s body, and once it was completely out of the staff, Goku pulled the staff from her leg which caused her to fall to the ground.   
“Here,” Goku said as he handed her the Senzu Bean that he had been saving for her.  Without debate, she snatched the bean and instantly found that all of her wounds from both giving birth and being stabbed were completely healed, and her energy returned to normal.  
“Are you okay?”  King Vegeta asked his daughter who was starting to stand on her feet again.  
“Yes,” she replied as she looked at her hands.  “I can control this,” she smiled.  After she was completely healed, Gohan walked up to her with the newborn still in his arms and handed her over to Clara.  
“Here you go,” he said with a smile as he laid Hope in Clara’s arms.  
“Thank you,” she said with a tearful smile.  
“No,” Gohan countered, “thank you,” he said quietly with a smile.  “I know he’s been wanting another kid.”  
            “Congratulations,” Piccolo said as he walked up to Clara and looked at the newborn Saiyan still sleeping.  
“Thank you,” she replied with a smile.  “We should probably take her to Capsule Corp and get her cleaned up,” Clara said as she turned to Goku who had been talking with her father.   
“Right,” Goku said with a smile.  “Anyone else care to join?”  He offered as he found Vegeta’s energy.  
“Sure,” Gohan said, “I’ll take along.  Piccolo, you coming?”  
“No,” Piccolo replied.  “I’m going to get in as much training as I can before we leave.”  With Clara holding Hope, King Vegeta, Lenora, and Gohan all attached to Goku, they instantly appeared inside the Capsule Corp living room – catching Bulma by surprise.  As she looked at the newborn that Clara was holding, her eyes became wide and filled with tears as she ran over to the group.  
            “Oh my God!”  She quietly and happily exclaimed.  “She’s so beautiful!”  
            “Thank you,” Clara said with a smile as she looked at her daughter.  
“At least she doesn’t have Goku’s hair,” Bulma chuckled as she rubbed Hope’s tiny arms.  
            “That’s what I said,” Goku laughed.  
“I’m going to take her up to my room and get her washed off,” Clara said as she repositioned Hope in her arms.  “You guys should probably get as much training in as you can,” she said as she turned back towards the group behind her.  “We’re gonna need it, and we only have about twenty hours until we have to be back.”  
“Are you sure you want to go?”  Goku asked Clara as he looked at their daughter in her arms.  “No one would think any less of you if you didn’t go.”  
“Like I said before, this is _my_ war,” she said quietly.  “There’s no keeping me out of it.  The more of us there are, the quicker this will be over, and the quicker we can come home and be with our daughter.  Besides, as of right now, I’m the strongest one here, so the rest of you have roughly twenty-hours to become as strong as you possibly can.”  
“I can’t say that I expected anything else,” Goku chuckled.  “Alright then, we’ll do what we can.  In the meantime, take care of our little girl,” he said as he bent down and kissed Hope on the forehead.  
“Of course,” she smiled, and as Goku, Lenora, her father, and Gohan walked out of the Capsule Corp house, she made her way upstairs with the small Saiyan in her arms.  
“Would you like some help?”  Bulma offered.  
“Uh, actually,” Clara embarrassingly began, “I don’t have any clothes for her.  Do you happen to have anything that would fit her?”  
“Sure thing,” Bulma happily agreed.  “I think I might still have some girl newborn outfits when I wasn’t sure if I was having a boy or girl when I was pregnant with Trunks, and I also have a shot that will keep her immune to diseases and sicknesses.  I had to make one specifically for Saiyan DNA when Trunks was born, so you’re more than welcome to have one.”  
“Awesome,” Clara smiled.  “Thank you so much.”  While walking up to her room, she couldn’t help but to look at her newborn daughter.  “You’re not even a day old, and you’re already a hero,” she told her sleeping daughter.  “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have Gurki’s power again, and I wouldn’t be able kill Cretos and Axmir – the ones responsible for the death of your half-sister.  I guess I should thank your father as well,” she chuckled.  “I guess heroism runs in the family.”  Once she walked in her room, she gently closed the door behind her and made her way into the bathroom.  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered as she started to turn the sink on.  “This might wake you up.”  And sure enough, as soon as the water turned on and began filling the sink, Hope woke up and started crying still with her eyes closed.  “You’re alright,” Clara quietly shushed her as she grabbed a towel and wet it.  While Hope was still crying, Clara continued to get the blood off of her little body, and little by little, her smooth, soft skin became cleaner.  “There we go,” Clara said as she held the naked newborn in her arms due to the cape having blood on it.   
            “Hey,” Bulma said as she quietly opened the door and made her way inside Clara’s room.  “Is everything alright?”  
“Yes,” Clara replied with a small smile as she walked out of the bathroom with Hope who was still whimpering.  “I think she’s cold.”  
“Well, here you go,” Bulma said as she laid a pile of newborn girl clothes and diapers on Clara’s bed.  “I even had holes cut out for the tail,” she chuckled.  
“Thank you so much,” Clara said as she tried to rock her daughter back to sleep.  “She’s so fussy,” she said quietly to Bulma as she looked through the clothes.  
“Well, I guess that’s what happens when you mix Vegeta’s twin sister with Goku,” Bulma joked.  “Oh, and here,” she said as she pulled a syringe out of her lab coat pocket.  “Do you want to give it to her now?”  She asked.  
“Yeah, sure,” Clara shrugged.  “Might as well since she’s already crying.”  Quickly, Bulma injected the fluid into Hope’s right arm, but was shocked when there was no reaction from it.  “Huh,” Clara said as she looked at her daughter with a puzzled look.  “I’m surprise it didn’t make her cry _more_.”  
“Well, she _is_ a full-blooded Saiyan,” Bulma laughed.  “She can handle a shot.  And speaking of full-blooded Saiyan, what are you going to do about her tail?  You know about the transformation don’t you?”  
“The Great Ape?  Yeah,” Clara confirmed.  “And I don’t know yet.  I have to see what Goku thinks about it,” she shrugged.  “This one’s adorable,” she smiled as she picked up a light blue, long-sleeve onesie with tiny yellow flowers on it.  
“So, what’re you going to do?”  Bulma asked as Clara put the clothes on her daughter.  
“What do you mean?”  She asked quietly, knowing very well what Bulma was talking about.  
“You’re going to fight, aren’t you?”  She assumed.  
“I have to,” Clara replied quietly after a few moments of silent and after she finished getting her daughter dressed.  “I started all of this, and I’m not one to let others fight my wars.”  
Bulma smiled.  “Just like Vegeta,” she chuckled.  “Always wanting to fight no matter what.  He asked me if I would be willing to watch Hope while you’re all gone, so I just want you to know that I’m more than happy to.  I really miss having a baby around here,” she smiled.  “It’ll be fun.”  
“Lucky you,” Clara replied.  “I just hope we can be back in about a week or two,” she said as she picked up her daughter who had fallen back asleep and placed her on her back by the head of the bed.  “I don’t want to miss too much time with her.”  
“Well,” Bulma said as walked towards the door while Clara walked to the other side of the bed, laid down, and turned on her right side to face her sleeping daughter, “I’ll make sure to document everything of every day so you can see when you get back.”  
“Thank you,” Clara said quietly as a tear streamed down the left side of her face and Bulma gently closed the door behind her.  _For the first time in my life, I’m absolutely terrified,_ she thought as she watched her newborn sleeping daughter and gently rubbed her soft, left cheek with her index finger.


	34. Erebus Saga - Part 4

**Part 4 - Goku and Hope/Time to Start a War**

**"A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she'll never outgrow your heart." - Unknown**

 

  As the quiet night rolled around, only ten hours remained until it was time for everyone to head back to Planet Erebus to take out the corrupt King Cretos and Axmir, and upstairs in Clara’s room, Clara laid fast asleep next to her and Goku’s newborn daughter who was also sound asleep, but quickly, Clara woke up when she heard the slow opening of her bedroom door.  
            “Hey,” Goku said quietly once he noticed that Clara had woken up, and he walked into the dark room and walked towards the bed.  
            “Hey,” she quietly said with a smile as he stood by the side of the bed with her back facing him.  “I thought I told you guys to go train.”  
“We did,” he quietly replied.  “It’s late, so we’re going to rest up until we have to leave.”  
“Late?”  She questioned.  “What time is it?”  
“About ten o’clock,” he told her.  “We trained for a good ten hours.”  
“Wow,” she said in awe.  “I didn’t think I slept that long.  I haven’t slept that long in what seems like forever.”  
“What about her?”  Goku asked as he looked at his sleeping daughter.  “Has she been sleeping this whole time?”  
Clara smiled as she turned her head back to look at her daughter.  “I’m pretty sure,” she quietly chuckled.  “If she woke up at all, I didn’t hear her.”  Without replying, Goku pulled the large, comfortable comforter back, and laid down, still completely dressed in his gi, behind Clara and wrapped her up in his arms.  “What’re you doing?”  She asked as she felt Goku’s arms engulf her.  
“What do ya mean?”  He asked in confusion.  
“You’re married,” she quietly reminded him with hurt in her voice.  
“And so are you,” he told her, “and we have a daughter together.”  
“You and I both know why we had her,” Clara said as she stroked Hope’s cheek.  “It wasn’t because we just decided to mess around, and she accidentally happened.  Just because we have a daughter together, doesn’t mean that we have to be together.”  
“I know,” Goku admitted, “but ChiChi was right.  If having her was really only about saving the planet and containing Gurki, then we would’ve gone with Bulma’s way.  There was a reason that we had her the way we did.  I felt it, and I know you felt it too; otherwise, it wouldn’t have happened.”  
“I know that,” Clara said quietly.  “I just don’t want you to feel like you _have_ to be with me,” she stressed to him.  “If you want to try to work things out with your wife, then do it.”  
“I’ve already tried,” he told her as he kissed her left shoulder.  “Then she forced me to bring her over here, remember?”  
“Don’t kiss the backs of my shoulders,” Clara said as she shivered.  “You’re going to start something that you can’t finish right now.”  
“I’ll save that for later then,” he quietly chuckled.  Suddenly, faint whimpers came from the newborn causing Goku and Clara to focus their attention to their daughter.  “Is she alright?”  Goku asked as Clara pulled herself away from him, sat up, and held Hope in her arms.  
“Yeah,” Clara said with a smile as she looked down at their newborn daughter, “she’s just waking up – she’s probably hungry.”  Trying to see if Hope was hungry, Clara exposed her right breast and attempted to get the newborn to eat.  “What’re we going to do about her tail?”  Clara asked Goku as their daughter ate.  
“What do _you_ wanna do about it?”  Goku asked her in return as he propped up on his right elbow.  
“I asked you first,” Clara chuckled.  “I’m not ChiChi,” she began.  “I’m not going to make every single decision for our child.  You’re her parent too.”  
“I want her to keep it,” Goku said.  “Unless something happens with it, then I don’t see why we should cut it off.”  
“But what about when she gets old enough to start going to school?  She’ll be the only kid with a tail,” Clara argued.  “What if she gets made fun of?”  
“Well, if she ends up not wanting it, then I don’t see why we can’t let her make that decision,” Goku casually insisted.  “But I don’t see why anyone would make fun of her – she’s perfect.”  
“That’s what the elderly couple who found me said as well,” Clara scoffed as she looked down at their breastfeeding daughter.  
“What do you mean?”  Goku asked with concern.  “Did something happen?”  
“Yeah,” Clara said with hurt in her voice, “a lot happened to me.”  
Goku sat up and leaned against the headboard right next Clara as Clara continued to feed their daughter.  “Do you wanna talk about it?”  He asked with worry, but at the same time, he made her feel assured that she could tell him anything.  “I’m a good listener,” he smiled.  
“I’ve never talked about it with anyone,” Clara said with anxiety in her voice as she looked up and met Goku’s eyes.   
“Well, then I’m more than happy to be that someone you talk about it with,” he said in such a way that caused Clara to feel safer than ever before.  
_What is it about you?_ Clara thought in amazement as a warm, comforting sensation came over her the more he talked to her.   _What is it?_ “I’m not really sure of what happened during the time that I was a baby because I was obviously too young, so I only remember what they told me when I got older, but I guess it started in December of 1882,” she began quietly as to not disturb their daughter.  “As you know, my father sent me back in time to Earth because of Frieza, and when I crashed on the planet, I crashed in an elderly couple’s backyard.  Their names were Eisuke and Yuka Senri.  At the time, they were 75 years old, retired, never had, but they always wanted children, and were living out their lives on their farm,” she explained.  “I uh, landed in the cow yard,” she said with a slight smile and giggle.  “Once they heard the crash, they obviously came running outside, but were confused when they saw a strange looking object in the middle of the cow yard.  Naturally, human curiosity took over them, so they decided to check it out, and once they heard me crying bloody murder, they immediately put all curiosity and doubt aside, and they focused on getting me out.  After getting me out of the ship my father had sent me in, they kept me wrapped in my cape because that’s all I had to wear, and they found it odd – extremely odd – that I had a tail, but they didn’t think too much about it because after all, I was just a newborn.  For the first four years of my life, they raised me like any other child – they gave me my name “Kali”, they loved me and gave me everything I wanted, but then came time for me to start school, and at five years old, I began going to school.  The elementary school that I went to also had the middle and high school connected to it, so it was one large building with a lot of students and teachers.  Honestly, I was excited.  I thought that the idea of learning new things was amazing, and I was always intrigued by how much people could learn, but when I got there on the first day in my brand new pink and green dress with my white flower sandals and my hair tied back in braided pig tails, I instantly became the laughingstock of all the kids there – even the kids my own age.”  Painfully, Clara forced herself to continue on with her story even though ever fiber in her body was begging her not to.  “I couldn’t understand what was so funny about me,” she began as tears started to force their formation in her eyes.  “I always had a smile on my face – every single day.  It’s how they raised me.  I was always so kind to everybody, but it didn’t matter what I did, or how nice I was to everyone, they always laughed every time they saw me.  It didn’t matter where it was – in the hallways, they’d laugh – in the classrooms – they’d laugh – at lunch time, I sat by myself and or had food thrown at me – at recess, I played by myself.  All the while, I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and every time I would ask someone why no one liked me, they would always just blow me off and continue to make fun of me.  Eisuke and Yuka taught me to always love myself and others and that you can’t judge others – especially if you don’t know them.  Even the teachers were in on it.  They tried to act serious when they saw me, but they couldn’t keep the act up for long, and even though they tried to hide it, I saw and heard the snickers.  It eventually started to take a toll on me, and I started to feel depressed.  A five-year-old kid – depressed because of students and teachers.  About four months into the horrible, first school year, on my sixth birthday, the unthinkable happened.”  Clara took a deep breath in and tried to fight back the tears that were winning the fight against her.  “I was in the bathroom washing my hands, and a group of kids from the neighboring middle school walked in,” she began as crying became inevitable.  “I remember it clearly.  I was wearing my blue and pink dress that had different colored balloons on the bottom of it, my pink sandals, and my hair was in a cute, little, French braid that had a yellow ribbon at the end of it.  The bathroom was a single stall, so I was really confused when a group of four middle schoolers walked in on me – I guess I had forgotten to lock the door.  With these sadistic grins on their faces, they walked cornered me to the back of the bathroom so that I wasn’t able to go anywhere, and they took the yellow ribbon out of my hair, and while one of the students looped the ribbon over a pipe in the ceiling, the other three held me in place, and soon, once the ribbon was looped around the pipe, they raised me up to it with my back facing the ceiling, and the student who looped the ribbon around the pipe tied the ribbon tightly around my tail and hung me from the ceiling.”  Clara’s face was overcome with tears of talking about her past, and as Goku became visibly angry and upset at what he was hearing, she forced herself to continue.  “And it hurt,” she continued as she quietly sobbed.  “It hurt so bad.  It felt like my spine was being ripped out of my back, and they laughed!  They laughed as I hung there, and they all watched as I tried my hardest to get free.  Never in my life have I felt such physical pain as that again – not even giving birth compares.  They looked at me like I was a circus freak or an animal that was performing tricks, and not one single person helped.  Not the students.  Not the teachers.  No one.  In fact, they _forgot_ about me after they all decided to go back to their own business, and it wasn’t until later that evening when the janitor came into the bathroom and saw me quietly crying.  My lungs were sore from screaming out so much, and I had exhausted myself from trying to get myself free.  But at last, someone finally got me free, and when I looked at his name tag, his name never escaped my memory, but unfortunately, when I got home that evening, Eisuke and Yuka forced me back into the ship I arrived in as I still wore my birthday outfit, and because they didn’t know how to use it properly, they ended up sending me to Planet Erebus and I landed there in the Earth year 1998.  However, I never got to thank that janitor that saved me, but every time I hear your son Gohan’s name or see him, I’m reminded of the man who saved me because his name was also Son Gohan.”  
            “I’m so sorry,” Goku said quietly as he gently wrapped his arms around her as to not disturb their still-feeding daughter while he tried to fight the tears that wanted to form from hearing about what happened to the mother of his daughter.  “I wish I could do something to help you.  I wish I could take that pain away from you.”  
“You already have,” Clara said as she sniffled and wiped away a tear.  “They may have been responsible for one of the most agonizing times in my life, but you gave me something that’s brought nothing but joy to me, and all the pain that I feel from all those years ago, automatically goes away when I think about Hope,” she said a she smiled through her tears.  “The love I have for you and our daughter outweighs any amount of pain that I feel.”  
“Love me?”  Goku chuckled as he flashed a smile at her.  
“How can I not?”  She replied.  “You’ve given up so much for not only me, but the entire planet.”  
“Yeah, well, that’s what you do when you love someone,” he smiled as he kissed her left temple.  “Did you know that Gohan was the one who found me when I crashed on Earth and landed in the woods?”  He asked Clara.  
“No,” she replied, shocked at his revelation.  “Are you serious?  I didn’t think you knew each other – I just thought it was a common name.”  
“He raised me,” Goku said proudly, “but one day, when there was a full moon, I transformed into a Great Ape and ended up killing him by accident,” he said in a sad tone.  
“That’s awful,” Clara said in disappointment, “but it was an accident.  Accidents happen – especially with the Great Ape transformation, and especially if you don’t know what the tail is for.”  
“Yeah, I know,” Goku said.  “I know he’s in a better place, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still feel bad about it.  You never transformed into the Great Ape?”  
“Not that I know of,” Clara informed him.  “If I did, they didn’t tell me about it, and I read that those who transform into it aren’t always aware of what’s going on around them or that they even know that they’re transforming.”  
“True,” Goku agreed.  “I never knew what I was doing or remembered doing it.”  
“I did read one theory that female Saiyans who have Gurki in their body can’t transform because she puts a stop to it, but that’s never been proven,” she speculated.  “So, I’m pretty sure I did, but I was never told about it, and that might have been another reason why they sent me back.”  
“Well, even if you did transform into a Great Ape, I’d still love you,” he said as he kissed her left temple again.  As soon as he did, Hope decided that she was done eating, and for the first time, she opened her eyes completely and looked up at both of her parents with her dark, onyx eyes.  “Well, hi there,” Goku said in a kiddish tone with a smile as he tickled Hope underneath her chin, causing Hope to laugh, and as she began to squirm around and stretch, Clara put her shirt back down to cover herself up.  Carefully, Goku reached over and grabbed Hope from Clara which at first, Hope was unsure about, but the closer that her father held her to his chest, the more comfortable she became.  
“Is it bad that I already want another one?”  Clara chuckled as she watched Goku protectively hold Hope and leaned against his right shoulder.  
“No,” he laughed.  “I would be lying if I said I didn’t.”  
“Not anytime soon,” she said as she stroked Hope’s cheek.  “I need to get my planet back first before Cretos gets too out of control.”  
“What’re you going to do with it?”  Goku asked.  “You said you weren’t moving back to it, so what do you have in mind for it?”  
“That’s a surprise,” she winked at him.  “You’ll see once all of this is over.  I’m going to go hop in the shower,” Clara said as she went to get out of the bed.  “She just ate, so she might need to be changed in a few minutes.  Diapers and stuff are over there,” she said as she pointed to her dresser with all the stuff that Bulma had given her.  
“Got it,” Goku nodded as he looked at his tiny daughter while Clara made her way to the bathroom.  “Just you and me now,” he smiled as Clara locked the door behind her and as he watched Hope squirm in his arms.  “Your mom and I love you, you know that, right?”  He said softly as the newborn snuggled in his chest.  “A month ago, I didn’t expect my life to turn out this way, but honestly, I’m glad it did.  “I’ve got you, your mom, your two brothers, and I’ll always love their mom, don’t get me wrong, but I couldn’t have had you if I was still with her, and I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world – there’s nothing anyone could pay me, say to me, or give me to make me abandon you.  I know that the main reason we had you was so you could be a host for Gurki and stop the planet from being destroyed, but now that Gurki is back in your mom’s body – thanks to you – the planet is safe from her, and now you can grow up to live a normal life as our daughter and not have to worry about keeping her under control; however, there’s another big, mean, bad guy coming our way, and we’re scared that he might destroy the planet if he doesn’t get what he wants – which is Gurki.  So, mommy and daddy have to go away for a little bit, but I promise you, we _will_ be coming back to you.  Like I said, there’s _nothing_ that will keep me away from you.”  
            “That was really nice,” King Vegeta said as he peeked his head in the door to the room.  
“It’s true,” Goku said as he looked up and smiled at the Saiyan King.  “What’re you doing in here?”  
“What, a grandfather can’t come see his granddaughter?” King Vegeta laughed causing an unconvinced look on Goku’s face.  “You’re right, I’m here for a reason,” he admitted. “Have you done what you asked me about?  We’ve left the planet.”  
“I never asked you about it,” Goku replied in confusion.  
“Kakarot, I knew what you were going to ask me the moment you said you had to ask me something, and I gave you my answer right then, and I said, ‘of course’,” King Vegeta said quietly as he walked up to Goku who was still holding Hope who had fallen back asleep.  “So, have you or not?”  
“No,” Goku answered as he looked at his sleeping daughter and rubbed her back, “I haven’t asked her yet.  I will once all this is over.”  
“Well, we’re leaving in nine hours, so get all the quality time you want,” King Vegeta told him as he turned around and walked out of the room.  
_Too bad I can’t get all the quality time I want,_ Goku thought as he held Hope tighter to his chest, laid his left cheek on her head, and closed his eyes.  During the quiet five minutes that he had with his daughter, all he could think about was getting back from Erebus as soon as possible.  _It’s so different,_ he thought as he snuggled with his newborn daughter.  _It feels different having a girl than a boy.  How could her father have possibly sent Clara away when she was this small?  All I want to do is hold on to her and protect her.  If I could stay here and hold her like this for the rest of my life, then I would._  
            “Hey,” Clara said quietly as she walked out of the bathroom with her hair covered in a towel and a fresh pair of pajamas on.  The light that hit Goku’s closed eyes, and the sound of her voice caused him to open his eyes up and look in her direction.  “Looks like you two are comfortable,” she smiled as she walked towards the bed and laid down next to Goku.  Since he had taken her side from earlier, she laid down where Hope was laying earlier – on Goku’s right side.  
            “Just a bit,” he chuckled as he looked over to her.  “Are you sure you really wanna go?”  He asked her with eyes that begged her to say, “no”.  
“I have to,” she answered as she rubbed her daughter’s back with her right hand as she laid on her left side.  “As much as I don’t want to leave her, I know that I have to – right now, I’m the strongest one of all of us, and we need every advantage we can get.  If Cretos finds out that he’s not going to get Gurki’s power, then he won’t hesitate to destroy Earth.”  
“We only have nine hours to spend with her,” he replied quietly.  
“Hopefully we aren’t going to be gone too long,” Clara smiled as she laid her head on Goku’s right shoulder.  “I don’t want to leave her, but I know I have to.”  
“I know the feeling,” he replied as he laid his right cheek on her head.   
“You’re not going to get a shower?”  She asked as she noticed that Goku was still wearing his same Gi.   
“No,” he answered.  “I want to spend as much time with her as I can – we don’t know how long we’ll be gone for.”  
“I’m giving us two weeks at the most,” Clara said confidently and seriously.  “If in two weeks we haven’t beat them, then I’m blowing the planet up with him and Axmir on it.”  
“Clara,” Goku said in surprise.  “What happened to you not wanting to hurt anyone innocent and wanting to keep the planet?”  
“We’ll save as many innocent people as possible.  I was thinking that we could secretly send groups off at a time before and during the battle even if we don’t blow the planet up, but I’d much rather be with our daughter than spend God knows how long fighting a battle,” Clara explained.  “She’s much more important to me than Planet Erebus.”  
“I’ll only let that happen as long as Cretos and Axmir are the only two on the planet,” Goku told her seriously.  “I won’t let innocent people be killed.”  
“I would say that we could just use the Dragon Balls to get rid of Cretos and Axmir, but they still need time to reset, and I’m afraid that they will attack Earth before they’re done resetting, so if it comes down that we _have_ to blow the planet up, we’ll relocate as many innocents as possible to Earth or another friendly planet, make sure that Cretos and Axmir are on Erebus, blow the planet up, and then once the Dragon Balls are reset, we’ll wish for Erebus and all of the innocents to be restored,” Clara explained.  “However, I don’t want to have to go through all that – I’d much rather just take the two of them out.”  
“Two weeks,” Goku confirmed.  “If in two weeks we haven’t beaten them, then we’ll go with that, but hopefully we don’t have to do that.  I can’t stand innocent people getting hurt.”  
“We should probably get some rest,” Clara said as she closed her eyes while she kept her left cheek on his shoulder.  “I doubt we’re going to be able to rest much once we get there.”  
“You’re probably right,” he chuckled as he wrapped his right arm around Clara so that she was laying on the right side of his chest, held Hope on the center of his chest with his left arm, and closed his eyes.  From the time they went to sleep – at eleven o’clock that night – not one of them woke up or moved a muscle until four-thirty the next morning rolled around – three and a half hours until they were to go back to Erebus.  At four-thirty, Goku was awoken by Hope who started to squirm and let out small whimpers, and he quickly noticed that she had gone to the bathroom during the night.  Once he realized that she was awake and that Clara was still sound asleep, he carefully moved his around from around her, continued to hold Hope to his chest, and slowly got out of the bed. “Come on,” he whispered to her as he walked towards the dresser and grabbed things to change her in to, “we don’t want to wake your mom up.” After grabbing everything that he needed, he quietly headed downstairs to the living room where he laid the whimpering newborn on the couch and changed her completely.  “There,” he said with a smile after he finished putting her in a long sleeved, comfortable, pink dress that had light blue accents around it. However, his smile faded when he realized that Hope was still whimpering and tears began to form in her beautiful, onyx eyes.  “Hey,” he softly whispered as he picked her up from laying on the couch and held her close to his chest.  “What’s the matter?”  He quietly and worriedly asked her even though he knew he wasn’t going to get a reply.  “Maybe she’s cold,” he said to himself as he grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and placed it over the two of them – covering Hope completely aside from her head and covering Goku’s arms and chest, but alas, she started to whimper louder, and eventually, her eyes became filled with tears, and he got up and walked around – hoping that it would help keep her from all-out crying.  “Hungry,” he quietly realized once he figured out that nothing else was working.  “I hate to wake your mom up, but you have to eat,” he told her as he headed back upstairs.  However, unbeknownst to him, there was an eavesdropper standing on the other side of the wall of the living room who decided to pop around the corner as Goku headed back upstairs.  
            “Kakarot,” Vegeta said quietly as he walked into the living room behind Goku.  “Don’t go wake Clara up,” he told him.  “She’s not a happy person when she woken up.”  
            “Hope has to eat,” he told him.  “I’m sure she’ll be fine waking up to feed her.”  
“Just follow me,” Vegeta said as he turned and headed towards the kitchen.  
“Uh, Vegeta, I know that I’m not the smartest person in the world, but I know that babies can’t eat normal food,” Goku said as he walked into the large kitchen after Vegeta.  
“Oh, just shut up already,” Vegeta quietly barked as he opened the refrigerator.  “Here,” he said as he pulled out a bottle with a thick liquid in it.  
“What’s this?”  Goku asked as he held the bottle in his hand.  
“Bulma made it,” Vegeta said as he pointed to an entire shelf of filled bottles.  “It’s artificial milk – it has all the nutrients that Hope would get from Clara, and each bottle is enough to fill a normal Saiyan.  It’s what Bulma has to feed her with while we’re gone, so she might as well start getting used to it.”  
“Thanks, Vegeta,” Goku said quietly as he sat down in one of the chairs and held the bottle up to his daughter, and right away, she began drinking it.  “So, why are you up this early?”  He asked, curiously.  
“Every minute that I’m not fighting Cretos and Axmir or sleeping, has to be spent training,” he said as he started to walk out of the kitchen and head to his gravity room, but was stopped when Goku caught his attention.  
“Why were you standing on the other side of the wall?”  Goku asked as he looked at Hope, causing Vegeta to turn around.  
Vegeta scoffed.  “You already know that I’m not crazy about you and my sister having a child together,” he told him, “and when I heard you in the living room while I was going to my gravity room, I decided to see if you knew what you were doing.”  
“And?”  Goku asked as he looked at Vegeta who was clearly annoyed, but instead of a reply, Vegeta scoffed and then headed straight for his gravity room without saying another word.   
Goku laughed.  “Your Uncle Vegeta is just overprotective of your mom,” he smiled – turning his attention back to his newborn daughter.  
            As the sun rose three hours later at seven-thirty, everyone who was going to Erebus was dressed and ready for the battle that they’d soon be taking part in.  Gohan, Piccolo, Goku, Vegeta, King Vegeta, Clara, and Lenora all stood in the living room of the Capsule Corp house.  Gohan and Goku were dressed in the same orange gi’s, Piccolo and Vegeta wore their usual battle outfits, King Vegeta wore his Saiyan King armor, Lenora wore her usual outfit, and Clara wore a black, spandex long sleeve shirt with matching black, spandex pants, black, calf-high boots, and the empty staff strapped to her back, and as she finished tying her hair back into its usual ponytail, Bulma handed her Hope, who was still dressed in the pink and blue dress that Goku had dressed her in earlier that morning.   
            “Alright, pretty girl,” she said as she held Hope in her arms for the last time until they got back from the battle.  “Mommy and daddy have to go away for a little while, but Aunt Bulma is going to take really good care of you and spoil you like there’s no tomorrow,” she told her smiling daughter.  “I promise that we’ll come back to you.”  Clara, who was standing next to Goku, passed their daughter to him so that he could hold her for the last time until they returned.  “Everything your mom said,” Goku said as he smiled down at his playful daughter and kissed her on the forehead.  “Please, don’t grow up too fast,” he jokingly begged her.  While Goku was still holding Hope, Clara reached over and kissed their daughter on her cheek for about five seconds with her eyes closed, and when she opened them, tears had begun to fill them.  “We love you so much,” Goku said as he and Clara held Hope close to them and kissed her one more time on her forehead.  “Okay,” Goku said with a sigh as he went to hand Hope to Bulma.  “Please, take good care of her,” Goku quietly pleaded with Bulma.  
            “She’ll be perfectly fine,” Bulma smiled.  “Right?”  She said playfully as she looked down at Hope in her arms.  “Tell them that we’re going to go have a fun time – just us girls,” Bulma said with positivity.  Bulma reached into her lab coat jacket and pulled out a box filled with capsules in it.  “Here are some capsules with food and stuff in them,” she said as she handed Goku the box, “and here’s the bag of Senzu Beans,” she said as she handed them the bag of Senzu Beans that Vegeta had in their room.  “There’re only four left, so be sparing.”  
“Got it,” Goku said as he took the two things from Bulma and secured them in his belt.  
“Alright,” Clara sighed as she stopped the tears in her eyes and walked towards Bulma and Hope.  “We’ll see you soon,” she said as she bent down and kissed Hope once more and stroked her cheek.  “Okay, I’m ready,” she said as she turned around and took a deep breath in and let it out.  With a nod of agreement, everyone latched on to Goku in some way, and he began to search for their clones’ energy on Planet Erebus, and after taking one last look at his newborn daughter, he followed the energy that he was looking for and took everyone back to Planet Erebus.

 

**“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack,**   
**we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near,**   
**we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away,**   
**we must make him believe we are near.”  - Sun Tzu**

 

Seconds after leaving Earth – Goku, Clara, Vegeta, King Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and Lenora arrived in the cell that the clones had been left in, and as soon as they did, the clones time ran out and disappeared into nothingness.  
            “Perfect timing,” Lenora said as they popped up in the cell.  “If we had been a second later in leaving, we wouldn’t have been able to follow the clones’ energy.”  
            “Let’s hurry this up,” Clara said quietly as she headed towards the door of the cell and opened it up, “I’m already ready to go home.”  
            “What’s the plan?”  Gohan asked Clara as she stood in the doorway and looked around to make sure there were no guards.  
“Since you and Piccolo aren’t known around here, it’ll be easier for the two of you to move around, so we don’t need to worry about you two so much,” Clara began.  “Lenora, can you create multiple sets of clones for the four of us?”  
“I can in two days,” Lenora told her.  “Since the other clones’ time ran out, I can’t make any more until two days have passed.”  
“Damn,” Clara scoffed.  “Alright then.  Time for Plan “B”.”  
            “And what’s Plan “B”?”  King Vegeta asked.  
“Now that Gohan and Piccolo are here, we can revise our plan,” Clara began.  “How stealthy can the two of you be?”  She asked as she closed the door and turned back towards the group.  
            “How stealthy do we need to be?”  Piccolo asked.  
“You need to know how to not blow your cover,” she told them.  “I have a plan, but it’ll only work perfectly if the two of you can stay serious.”  
“Of course,” Gohan assured her.  
“Okay, listen up,” Clara began.  “I had a hidden weapons cache inside the castle, but Cretos and I got into an argument one day, and he had it hidden underneath the Royal Military base – the Third Section’s military base.  He’s made it so that the Royal Military will kill me on sight if I go get it or get anywhere near it, and they’re a lot stronger than me even with Gurki’s power, so I need the two of you to go and get it.”  
“We’re really supposed to just barge in there and get it?”  Gohan questioned.   
“No,” Clara told them.  “If Lenora’s forms weren’t known by them, then I would just send her in in the form of one of the guards, but they’re probably on the lookout for her and us.  So, Lenora, what you’re going to do it shapeshift into one of your human forms, I don’t care which one, and you’re going to go grab two of the guards.  Tell them that there’s an emergency in one of the cells down here and that they need to come quick.  There’s a cubby right down the hall, and I’m going to go hide in it.  Once they pass me, I’ll come up from behind them and knock them out.  Then, I’ll take off their uniforms, and Gohan and Piccolo will change into them.”  
“Sounds like a plan,” Lenora agreed, “but how do you plan on knocking them out?”  
Clara smiled.  “Trust me,” she said as her eyes turned solid black, causing everyone to look at her in shock.  “I have Gurki’s power – I think I can knock out a few guards.  Besides, it’s not just so that Gohan and Piccolo and disguise themselves – I also need their guns.”  
            “What if someone notices?”  Goku asked with seriousness.  “Two missing guards might cause suspicion don’t you think?”  
“Nobody will notice if there’s nobody to notice,” Clara said with a smirk.  “Enough chitchat,” she said as she opened the door and scanned the hallway.  “It’s time to end this.”  Without another word, Clara’s plan immediately went into action and she carefully and quietly made her way into the cubby down the hallway, and Lenora shapeshifted into a normal looking Sroid with light blue skin, long brown hair, and dark brown eyes, and she quickly made her way to look for a pair of guards – acting frantic as she ran around looking.   
“Do you really think this will work?”  Goku concernedly asked everyone in the cell with him.   
            “She seems to think so,” Vegeta replied as he stared at the door with his arms crossed.  After standing around in silence for a few minutes, the tense air was finally cut when the group heard voices coming from out in the hallway.  
            “Are you sure it was this way, ma’am?!”  One of the guards yelled, and the two guards’ and Lenora’s footsteps came around the corner.  
            “Yes!”  Lenora said frantically, pretending that something bad had happened.  “It was this cell right down here!”  
            _Awesome, Lenora,_ Clara thought as she stayed hidden in her cubby.  Making sure not to move a muscle or breathe too loudly, Clara watched as the trio passed her hiding spot, and she watched as the guards began opening the door to a cell that was two cells away from the one that everyone was hiding in.   
“Looks like we have an escaped prisoner,” one of the guards said to the other as they walked into the empty cell.  
_And the mice take the cheese,_ Clara chuckled as she quickly and quietly left her hiding hole, and popped up behind the two guards.  Once she was in the cell with them, Lenora closed the door behind her and kept watch over the room to make sure that no one was coming down that way.  As Clara popped up behind the guards she knocked one of them out with a single chop to the back of the neck and the other one out with a rear-naked choke.  She then stripped them down, took their uniforms and guns, and slowly walked out of the cell.  “Thank you, Lenora,” Clara smiled as she walked back to the cell where everyone was waiting.  “Here,” she said as she threw the guards’ uniforms to Gohan and Piccolo, “change into those.”  
“One problem,” Piccolo said.  “These are a bit too small for me,” he informed her as he noted the size difference of the clothes to himself.  
“Okay, then Gohan is going in alone,” Clara said casually and sounding annoyed.   
“Alone?”  Gohan asked as he continued to put the guard’s uniform on.  
“Yes,” Clara confirmed as she shoved the two guns that she had taken in either boot, “you’ll be fine, but if you blow anything up or use any energy or energy blasts, you’re sure to get us caught.”  
“How do I even know where to go?”  Gohan questioned.  “I have no idea where we are now, let alone where the Third Section’s military base is.”  
Clara scoffed.  “Here,” she said as she held her right hand up to Gohan’s forehead and closed her eyes.  “Better?”  She asked seconds later.  In confusion and disbelief, Gohan realized that he had to entire map of Planet Erebus in his mind.   
“How…did you do that?”  He hesitantly asked.  
“Gurki’s power,” Clara said bluntly.  “It’s called Memory Sharing,” she explained.  “I can transfer any memories that I want to someone else; however, it’ll only stay in your head for twenty-four hours.”  
“Wow,” Gohan said in amazement.  “Wait, but the Third Section’s military base is all the way on the other side of the planet, and if I’m not allowed to fly, how am I going to get there before the twenty-four hours are up?”  
“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” Clara said as she made sure that the two guns she took were loaded.  “In the meantime, I’m going to make sure that there’s nobody around to notice our prison escape.”  
“I guess I’ll use the underground tunnels,” Gohan said as he headed towards the door.  “I mean, they _are_ shortcuts.”  
“There you go,” Clara chuckled.  
“So what did you mean by, ‘I’m going to make sure that there’s nobody around to notice’?”  Goku curiously asked.  
“If all the guards are knocked out or dead, then no one will notice that we’ve gotten out,” Clara told them as she began to quietly open the door, “so, everyone stay here, Gohan make your way to my weapons cache, bring back whatever you can carry, and I’ll have everything cleared out here.”  
“Do you want one of us to go with you just in case something happens?”  Goku asked with seriousness and concern in his voice.  
“That might be a good idea,” Clara nodded in agreement.  “One of you follow me – I don’t care who, but just make sure you’re quiet about it – I don’t want us getting caught.  They won’t hesitate to alert Cretos, and then we’ll be in a battle without being prepared.”  Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and the Saiyan King looked at each other as they tried to figure out who was going to go with the Clara.   
“I’m pretty sure a big green person like myself will be noticed,” Piccolo said as he went to sit down in the back corner.  “I’ll join when the real fight comes.”  
“Same here,” Vegeta said as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.   
“Just you and me now,” King Vegeta said as he looked at Goku.  “Go with her,” the Saiyan King told Goku, “you’re smaller than I am, so you’re less likely to draw attention.”  
“Come on, let’s go,” Clara quietly barked at Goku as she walked out of the door and leaned against the wall where the shadow was.  “Stay in the shadows, and don’t do or say anything unless I give you the signal.”  Without a worded response, Goku slowly walked out of the door, and as he did, Clara moved on to the next area with shadow, and Goku took her previous spot.   
            Clara, who was now at the end of the hallway, looked around the left corner, and saw to guards making their rounds.  _Okay,_ she thought.  _There’s no way to knock them out without the other one noticing, and we can’t afford to risk making another trap._ Quickly and quietly, she moved to the next hallway and hid in one of the crevasses in the stone wall, and Goku took her previous spot just like before.  _Alright,_ she said to herself as she reached down in her left boot and pulled out one of the guns she had taken.  _If it’s not perfect, they’ll notice._ Slowly, she created a silencer with her hand by holding her circled hand at the end of the muzzle – much like a silencer would do.  As the guards looked into one of the cells they began abusing the man inside, and Clara couldn’t help but to listen.  
            “Well, well,” one of the guards said to the man who was inside the cell.  “Looks like King Cretos has given us a new punching bag,” he laughed.  
            “Please, I didn’t do anything wrong!”  The man pleaded, and it was clear to tell that he was an older Sroid.   
            “Wrong!”  The other guard yelled as he sprayed a gas into the cell.  “You voiced your support for the corrupted Queen Kali, and that’s punishable by death!”  
_Despicable,_ Clara thought in disgust.  After the guards finished their abuse towards the elderly prisoner, they turned around and walked back towards the direction they came from and made the mistake of turning their backs towards Clara.  Without a second thought, she aimed her handmade, silenced gun at the back of their heads and pulled the trigger on the first one, and even thought it burned her hand to no end, she quickly pulled it again at the other one before he could process what had happened.   
“Was that really necessary?!”  Goku quietly hissed at her.  “You could’ve just knocked them out!”  
“No,” Clara quietly denied as she stealthily made her way to the cell.  “They would’ve noticed.”  
“You and I both know that’s not true,” Goku quietly argued as he followed.  “You know you could’ve asked me to knock one out.  You had another reason for killing them.”  
“Did you not hear the way they were treating that man?”  She asked, turning around to Goku.  “They’re loyal to Cretos; therefore, they’re my enemy.  I’m doing what needs to be done because I want to go home to our daughter.  I don’t have the time or desire to beat around the bush and question everything.”  Upon approaching the cell, the man who had just been sprayed by the guards was still trying to get the burning sensation out of his eyes.  He appeared to be significantly older – he was about eighty-five years old, and he short, white hair, light blue skin, and he wore the standard prison jumpsuit.  “Hey,” Clara whispered as they stood outside the cell.  “Are you alright?”  She asked with worry.  
“Yes,” he answered quietly as he struggled to open his eyes.  “Are you…Queen Kali?”  He asked in confusion and surprise as he looked at his queen standing on the other side of the bars.  
“Yes,” she answered kindly, “and this is my friend, Goku.  We’re going to get you out of here.”  
The man laughed as he stood up and walked towards the bars.  “That’s what I got arrested for,” he told them.  “I came in here to try to get you out of here.”  
“So, some are still loyal,” she confirmed.  
“Yes, your majesty,” he nodded.  “Ever since you left the planet, I knew that something was off about King Cretos, so I’ve been trying to gather as many of your supporters as possible.”  
“If we get you out of here, will you lead me to them?”  She asked with a hopeful tone.  
“Yes, your majesty,” he nodded.  “Our hideout isn’t too far from here.”  
“Goku,” Clara said as she turned towards him, “can you bust open this door?  You’re physically stronger than I am, and I’m not trying to use too much of my power.”  
“Sure,” he said as he grabbed on to the bars and pulled them off of the door.  “Why didn’t our cell have bars like this?”  He asked.   
“We were in the maximum security area,” she told him.  “Besides, even if it did, Axmir still would’ve had that guard on it.”  
“Thank you so much, your majesty,” the elderly man said as he shook Goku and Clara’s hand.  “My name is Yozo Yagi.”  
“Please,” Clara said, “call me ‘Clara’,” she said with a smile.  “‘Your majesty’ is a thing of the past.”  
“Clara,” Yozo said with a smile and nod in understanding.  
“We need to clear out the prison first so that we can go back for the others that we brought with us,” Clara said in all seriousness.  “Do you know how to use a gun?”  
“Oh,” Yozo laughed.  “I was the commander of the Second Section fifty years ago,” he told them.  “Of course I know how to use a gun.”  
“Awesome,” Clara said as she handed him the other fully loaded gun that was in her boot.  “If you can knock them out, then knock them out, but if not, you know what do to.”  
“Right,” Yozo nodded.  “And again, thank you.”  Without another word, he took off into the direction that the guards were lying lifeless on the ground and began to clear out the prison that way.   
“Come on,” Clara said as she tapped Goku’s shoulder and went back in the direction that they came from.   
“So, can any Sroids use energy attacks?”  Goku quietly asked her as they walked around the prison and made sure it was completely clear.  
“Only a few,” she answered.  “Our basic military doesn’t because Cretos doesn’t want to spend the money it would cost to train them, but all the royals besides me, the Royal Military, and the rich know how to, and unfortunately, those aren’t the ones on my side.”  
“And Cretos is the strongest one,” Goku reconfirmed as he knocked out a guard with the back of his hand.  
“As long as Axmir has the power of a million Saiyans, and Cretos has control over him with that other staff, then yes.  He’s the strongest,” Clara told him.  
“So, we should get that staff from Cretos as soon as possible,” Goku suggested.  
“Yes, but Cretos has a piece of it broken off, remember?”  Clara reminded him.  “As long as he has that broken piece, he can stop and control Axmir just as much as we’d be able to with the full staff, so in reality, we need to get that piece from Cretos first and _then_ the full staff, but as soon as we do, I know he’ll send his Royal Military after us.”  
“How big is the Royal Military?”  He asked curiously.  “And how strong are they?”  
“Fifteen thousand men,” Clara told him.  “They act as his personal body guard, and they’re second in strength right behind Cretos – he wants them strong enough to take out any threat coming his way, but he doesn’t want them stronger than he is.”  
“Sounds like it’s going to be a good battle,” Goku said as he started to sound excited.  
“I’m ready to get it over with,” Clara scoffed.  “I want to hold our daughter,” she said as she grabbed a guard from behind and choked him out.  
“I know,” he said in seriousness, “so do I.”  
“I think that’s all of them,” Clara said as they checked the hallways once more.  “Let’s go get the others, and go find Yozo.”  
            “Finally,” Vegeta said as Goku and Clara opened up the door to let them out.  “What took you so long?”  
            “Sorry,” Clara apologized, “there were more than I thought.  I found a supporter, so come on – let’s get a move on.”  
            “What’re we doing now?” King Vegeta asked his daughter, but he found himself ignored by her when she closed her eyes and began to focus.  
_Gohan,_ she thought, reaching out to Gohan via telepathy.  _This is a one-way channel, so you can’t reply to me,_ she told him as he continued to run through the underground tunnels.  _When you get my weapons, I’ll tell you where to meet us, and you are to meet us there._  
“What was that?”  Vegeta asked curiously.  
“Telepathy,” she answered.  “It’s another one of the abilities that I have thanks to Gurki; however, it’s a one-way channel – I can only send messages,” she informed them.  “But anyways, we’re going to go find Yozo, and he’s going to take us to my supporters – apparently their hideout isn’t too far from here.  There, we’ll come up with a strategy while we wait for Gohan to meet up with us.”  Quickly the group with Clara, Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, King Vegeta, and Lenora headed through the dark hallways of the prison underneath the castle, and eventually, they came across Yozo, who quickly guided them out of the secret entrance in the back of the prison, through a giant grass field, and opened up the entrance to the secret storm sewer.  Because they knew that they couldn’t use their energy, the all climbed down the long, descending latter, and once they all landed on the ground, they were all surprised to see the colony of supporters that became ecstatic once they saw Clara.  “Oh, wow,” Clara said in surprise as she looked around the room.  Surrounding her and her group were Sroids from all races, genders, and ages, and there were even entire families down there with their children who were all excited to see their queen.  “How many people are down here?”  She asked Yozo who had a grin on his face as he looked at the warm welcome.  
“Five thousand,” he whispered as he leaned over to her.  
“Five thousand?”  Goku said in amazement.  “That’s a lot of support.”  
“Yeah,” Clara said as tears of joy filled her eyes.  “It’s more than I ever expected.”  Suddenly, an older woman came from the back of the crowd, and in her hands was a completely newly sewn battle suit for Clara.   
            “Here you go, your majesty,” the woman said as she handed the outfit to Clara.  “I heard that your old one got destroyed, so I made you a completely new one.”  
“Wow,” Clara said in awe as she looked at the outfit.  “It looks just like my -,”  
“Your royal get-up,” the woman smiled.  “It’s an exact replica.”  In Clara’s hands was a replica of the outfit that she wore that symbolized her as the queen – an all-black, spandex under suit, a beautiful, white, chest-armor accented in gold, a gold cape, and white and gold knee high boots.  “I was unable to recreate your crown though,” the woman said in disappointment.  
“It’s perfectly alright,” Clara said as she handed the outfit to her brother and hugged the woman.  “This is gorgeous work,” she thanked her.   
            “If you need an army, then we’re here to give you one,” a man said as he stepped forward with his large group of friends and family.   
“Virtus,” Clara said quietly as she looked at the tall, green skinned, man with the long, black hair standing in his armor and weapons with his military friends and family around him.   
“Didn’t I tell you that you’d always be like my little sister?”  He asked as Clara walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.  “I told you long ago that if you ever needed my army for anything, we’d be there.”  
“I thought you were dead,” she quietly cried in relief as she made sure that he was real.   
“I don’t die _that_ easily,” he laughed.  “I see you found your family,” he said as he noticed the group standing behind her.  
“Yeah,” she laughed.  “That’s my father, brother, Goku, and Piccolo,” she said as she pointed them out,” but there’s one person missing,” she said sadly.  
“Who?”  He curiously wondered.  
“My daughter,” she answered quietly.  
“We’re going to get revenge for her,” Virtus assured her.  “I promise you, and we’re going to free our planet from the corrupted king.”  
“I know we are,” Clara smiled, “but I meant my other daughter.  Well, _our_ daughter,” she said as she looked towards Goku.  
“You had another child?”  He said in happiness in surprise.  “I guess you’ve been longer than we thought,” he laughed.  
“It wasn’t like that – at least not at first,” Clara said with joy in her eyes.  After explaining everything that had happened, Virtus found himself even angrier at the Sroidian King than before.   
“So, he planned everything, huh?”  He confirmed to himself.  
“Every detail,” she nodded.  “Everything from my crash, the SAS agents, Gurki leaving my body, to where we are right now, but he didn’t plan on me stealing Axmir’s staff and getting Gurki’s power back in my body.”  
“So he wanted Gurki to leave your body so that he could get her when she got inside Hope’s body?”  Virtus asked.  
“Yeah,” she confirmed.  “He knew that I had complete control of her, so he knew that she wouldn’t leave my body unless I forgot how to control her, so he had his agents wipe my memories and bring me close to death – he thought of everything too – even gave them fake memories of their lives and the Saiyans.  He ended up screwing himself over when he gave Axmir the broken piece of his staff back though.”  
“Clearly,” Virtus laughed as he pointed to the staff on Clara’s back.  “Well, as long as you have Gurki’s power under control again, there’s no way they can take it.”  
“Yeah,” Clara agreed, “so now it’s time do what I planned to do when I left this planet.”  
“As I said – my army is in your control,” Virtus said as he saluted his old friend, “and you have the support of everyone here.”  
“Well then,” Clara smirked.  “It’s time we start a war.”


	35. Erebus Saga - Part 5

**Part 5 - The Rubicon**   
  
  
  
**“Caesar broke the law when he crossed the Rubicon.  Great leaders have to think outside the box sometimes.” – Rick Riordan**

 

Standing at attention in front of Clara, Goku, Vegeta, King Vegeta, Piccolo, and Lenora, Virtus’ and his army waited for instruction from their queen that they remained loyal to along with the others down in the sewer hideout.

    “Virtus,” Clara said, addressing the army’s commander.  “Does Cretos still believe you and your men to be loyal to him?”

    “Yes,” Virtus confirmed.  “Right now, he believes that we’re on a training field.”

“Good,” Clara nodded.  “That makes this much easier then.”

“How many are in your legion?”  She asked him.

“Fifteen-hundred,” he answered.  

_Damn,_ Clara thought.  _That’s only 1,500 soldiers._ “Okay, listen up,” she began as she addressed his entire army.  “There are three military sections.  As you know, Section One is responsible for guarding the East and West sides of the planet, Section Two, is responsible for guarding the South side of the planet, and Section Three, is responsible for protecting _solely_ the kingdom as well as Cretos – the North side of the planet.  Because there are Three Sections, I will be splitting you up into three groups of 500.  Group A will split in half in order to take the East and West.  Group B will go North, and group “C” will go South.  As you know, Sections One and Two are involved in a civil war as we speak.  Because Section One has control over more land, they are causing grave damage on Section Two – we need _at least_ Section Two on our side, so we are going to take advantage of the war that they caused with Section One.  I know that you and Virtus are a part of Section One, and believe me, if I thought there was any other way, then I would do it; however, when group “A” splits and goes East and West, the 250 soldiers in each group _must_ fight the soldiers in Section One in order to hinder their flow of soldiers into Section Two.  Once group “C” has made it to Section Two, you will help the Section Two soldiers fight off the Section One soldiers.  And finally, Group “B”, you will be responsible for making sure that Cretos and his personal military-bodyguard doesn’t catch onto us.  Group “B” must remain undercover and not draw attention to themselves, and if you’re found by a Section One solider or army that’s not standing right here, and they attempt to kill you due to the Group “A” soldiers killing them, you must kill them, but if they decide that they want to join us, then you _will_ let them join.  If you find Section Two soldiers, you must gain their trust so that they’ll come over to our side.  The side that I’m calling “The Rubicon” because once I send you all off into your assigned destinations, we will be crossing the Rubicon, and there will be no going back.”

    In unison and without argument, Virtus’ entire army voiced their agreement and understanding of the task they had been given, and immediately, Clara and Virtus began to divide the army up into the three sections.  Using the underground tunnels that ran throughout the planet, each section went to their specified areas and did as they were told.  

    “What’s next?”  Goku asked her.

    “Lenora, how much longer until you can create another dimension and clones?”  She asked.

“About 40 hours,” she told her.

“Damn, alright,” she said in disappointment.  “I could’ve sworn it’s been longer than eight hours.  Right now, we’re at a stalemate.  Until Gohan gets back with my weapons, I’m completely useless unless I use Gurki’s power which I don’t want to do because it’ll draw attention, and the same goes for everyone else – no energy blasts, not flying, no nothing that’ll draw attention.  Let’s just hope that Virtus and his army will be able to recruit the Second Section soldiers.”

    “In the meantime, my queen, is there anything that I can do for you?”  The elderly woman who remade Clara’s outfit asked kindly.

“Actually, there is _one_ thing if you don’t mind,” Clara said with a smile.  Immediately, the woman agreed, and Clara began to quietly make a request to the woman, and she happily approved.

 

…

 

Coming up on the South side of the planet was Virtus and his legion of 500 soldiers.  Their job – to help Section Two fight off Section One, and being Section One soldiers themselves, the task would prove to be challenging.  

     _It seems that they have a pretty decent hideout,_ he noticed as he popped up from one of the storm sewers that led to the underground tunnels.  “My legion,” he said as he closed the lid to the storm sewer and addressed his soldiers.  “You are all to stay here,” he commanded them.  “Do not move a muscle.  Do not draw attention.  If you are attacked, then fight back, but do not be the first to pull the trigger.”  In understanding, his legion gave their agreement, and then Virtus climbed out of the storm sewer and slowly and stealthily made his way to the Section Two’s hideout.  As he walked up, the guards aimed their weapons on him, and he stripped himself of his weapons and laid them on the ground, making sure his hands were visible at all times.

    “I am not here to hurt you,” he informed them.  “I am here to help you.”

    “Commander Virtus,” one of the soldiers said as he kept his rifled pointed at him.  “Why are you of all people trying to help us?”

“I am here to negotiate the truce of this non-sensible civil war between our Sections,” he told them as he stood still with all of the guns aimed at him.

“This _non-sensible_ civil war, as you call it, was started by _your_ Section,” another guard said with anger.

“I understand that,” he agreed.  “However, now, there is a much bigger threat that is coming our way,” he stressed to them.  “From here on out, if you agree to forgive my Section and join forces with us, I’ll promise to take out any and all Section One soldiers that may attack.”

    “And how can we trust _you_?”  Another soldier asked with skepticism.  “For the last three years, our brothers and sisters have died by your Section.  Who’s to say that this isn’t a trap?”

“Allow me to hideout with you for one measly hour, and I’ll show you that it’s not a trap,” he bargained with them.  “I’m completely unarmed, so there’s nothing I can do to harm any of the Section Two soldiers in this legion.  If for some reason, you get the inkling that I’m going to go back on my word, then you have full permission to execute me and my soldiers who are hiding down in that sewer over there.”

“Fine,” the soldier from earlier reluctantly agreed.  “Only because I feel like you’re going to betray us, and I would love to have your head on a stick.”

“Thank you,” Vitus nodded as he slowly walked to the entrance of the hideout.  As he walked in, he received an unfriendly greeting from the solider who allowed him to come in.  From his uniform and his badge, Virtus could tell that he was the commander of the legion that was using the hideout - Commander Azai.  As Virtus walked in, he was pulled by his long, black hair and slammed into the floor.  His armor, badges, and medals were stripped from his uniform, and his face was kicked to the point that he passed out.  After the Section Two soldiers were finished, they sat the unconscious, bloody and beaten soldier in a chair and chained his arms behind his back and tied his legs to the chair so that he couldn’t move.  Commander Azai, the very soldier who let him in, assigned two guards to keep watch over him with their weapons drawn and prepared to do anything in case Virtus tried something. 

    “Do you think he’ll really try to help us?”  One of the soldiers asked the other one with genuine curiosity.

    “Of course not!”  The other soldier yelled in reply.  “He’s the commander over the whole First Section!  They started this war!  The way I see it, we might as well go ahead and kill him here and now.  If we kill Section One’s commander, then we show them that they can’t win this war.  He just handed himself to us.”

“Good point,” the first soldier replied.  “It’d be like taking out their backbone.”

“So, what do ya say?”  The other soldier asked in a taunting tone.  “We’d be heroes of this war - we’d be the ones to put an end to the slaughter.”

With a smile as a reply, the two soldiers pointed their guns at the still unconscious, unarmed, honorable, experienced, commander and on the count of three, they pulled their triggers and drove a bullet into the head of one of Clara’s oldest friends - ending his life. 

 

...

 

    In the underground sewer that Clara and her supporters were hiding out in while they waited for Gohan to return, they all sat around a fire that had been made when Clara felt a pain in her heart.  On one side of the fire, Clara laid her head in Goku’s lap with her back towards him and her front facing the fire.  To Goku’s left, Vegeta sat with his legs and arms crossed, next to Vegeta said Piccolo, and to the left of Piccolo, sat Lenora, and to the left of Lenora and the right of Goku, sat King Vegeta

    “You alright?”  Goku asked with concern as Clara grabbed her chest where her heart was.

    “Yeah,” she unconvincingly lied as her breath escaped her.  “I just want to get this over with and hold our daughter.”

“Well, hopefully Gohan will be back soon with your weapons,” he tried to comfort her.

_Virtus,_ she thought as looked at the fire in front of her.  _What is this?_

    “So, how do you think your friend and his army is faring?”  Vegeta asked his sister, almost as if he could read what was on her mind.

“He’s fine,” she lied, trying to convince herself more than anyone.  “He’s the best commander on this planet - he can handle anything.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself,” Vegeta deduced as he looked at his sister.

“No,” she continued to lie, “he’s fine.”  However, no matter how much she tried to convince herself, she couldn’t overcome the feeling in her chest that told her that something was wrong.  Even though everyone around her could tell that she was bothered, no one wanted to push her for an answer.  With nothing else to do, King Vegeta got up from where he was sitting and walked into the area where a buffet of food that had been in a Capsule was, but instead of eating, he set his hands on the table and bent forward as if he were about to throw up.  Noticing that there was something wrong with him, Lenora got up and quietly made her way to him.

    “Are you alright?”  She asked him, sounding concerned.

    “I’m fine,” he said bluntly as he realized that someone had noticed him.

“No, you’re not,” Lenora said as she stood next to him.  “Kali does the same thing, and every time she does, I know there’s something wrong.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” he scoffed.  “I forgot that _you_ raised my daughter.”

“I know you wish that you could’ve been there for her,” Lenora said in a genuine, caring voice.  “But when she got here she needed a -,”

“Don’t presume to know what I wish for,” he told her as he turned around to walk away, but was stopped when Lenora grabbed his cape.

“I know you want Cretos and Axmir dead,” she said quietly.

“Hmph, as does everyone else in this horrid place,” he told her.  “Now, let go of me,” he ordered as he snatched his cape away, but once again, it was caught by Lenora. 

“I’m the Goddess of Light,” she reminded him.  “Earlier, I said that there was too much darkness in you, but I never said that there wasn’t light, but there is – buried deep down.  I can see that there’s something in you that keeps the light going, and if I had to take a guess, it’d be Kali because every time something happens to her, the darkness begins to overshadow the light.”

“Are you done?”  He hissed at her.

“I can tell you anything you want to know about her,” Lenora told him.  “I can tell you what she was like growing up, what her hobbies were, what her favorite games were, how strong she became over a short period of time – anything.”

“If I wanted to know any of that, then I’d just ask her,” he scoffed.  

“That’s true,” Lenora agreed, “but I can give you the _parent’s_ perspective.  I can tell you about the joy that filled me when I saw her doing something she loved or how exciting it was to watch her grow up and become a queen.”

“Fine,” he quietly agreed as he looked into the goddess’ bright white eyes that seemed eager to tell him the story of his daughter.  

“Let’s go in here,” she said as she began to walk to the manmade area that housed small rooms for the supporters to sleep in, and without argument, the Saiyan King followed and closed and locked the door behind him.

    “So, talk,” he ordered her as they both sat down on the edge of the small, twin sized bed that was used by the supporters for sleeping.

    Lenora took a deep breath in as she looked into the eyes of the man whose daughter she had raised.  “Well, I guess it starts 17 years ago,” she began.  “Kali landed on Erebus in her Saiyan ship that she had been sent to Earth in, and she landed on the castle’s front yard.  Instantly, we all knew what she was because of the type of ship she was in and the tail that she had.  Once they got her out of her ship, the then king, Hadel, ordered her execution due to her being a Saiyan, and as you are aware, the Sroids don’t like the Saiyans and vice versa.  However, I convinced them that she’d be a strong, useful ally if we raised her right.  Understanding me, King Hadel allowed her to live under the circumstances that she didn’t have any luxuries – no toys, no comfortable sleeping quarters, limited food so that she wouldn’t get too strong, and she was to train in weapons only because King Hadel knew that the Saiyans were exceptional at using their energy.  I, however, didn’t agree to it.  So, whenever she was thrown into her prison cell of a room, I would make a new dimension, send a clone to get her, bring her to the new dimension, clone her, and keep her in the new dimension for the next day, and my what a time she had.  She had a room that was filled with all the toys she wanted, she had a giant, king sized bed, the refrigerator was always filled with food, and I would also give her extra training.  Even though she’s mostly skilled in weapons, I did teach her a few energy techniques, but that quickly stopped when I realized that Gurki was inside of her, and I wasn’t the only one – everyone else felt it to, but luckily, only a tiny bit of Gurki’s power came out, so she was able to control it, but I never worked with her on energy blasts again.  Instead, I honed her weapons skills and taught her how to control the demon Saiyan, and each day she spent with me in that dimension, she was happy – she was truly happy.  The smile that would appear on her face was like none other, and even though I could only take her there every two days, she would remain hopeful that I would be coming to get her while she sat in her small room with nothing to do.  Then, she turned 18, and King Hadel forced her to marry the then prince, Cretos.  They knew each other as children and sometimes he even trained her, so they knew each other growing up – she even gave him a giant scar on his face when she hit him with a kunai.  After they married, King Hadel and his queen were found dead, and the cause of death has never been determined.  Then, Queen Kali and King Cretos Erebus took their throne, and after four years of unsuccessful attempts, she finally got pregnant at 22 years old – right before her 23rd birthday.  When she told me that she was finally going to be a mother, the joy that I could sense in her was like non other.  She was ecstatic.  During the nine months leading up to Camilla’s birth, all Kali could think and talk about was all of the fun and sweet things that she was going to do with her daughter – how strong she was going to help her become, and train her for taking over her position one day.  Then, after the nine months, Kali went into labor, and just like with Hope, I delivered Camilla, and she was gorgeous – she had Kali’s skin tone and hair color, and she had her father’s bright blue eyes.  She would’ve been the most beautiful hybrid when she got older, but then, Cretos and Axmir took her life when they thought that Gurki was in her body.  It tore Kali and me apart, and while everyone believes that Kali was the one who murdered her sweet baby girl, I never believed that, and it’s clear to see that neither do any of these people.  Her heart was shattered – you could see it in her eyes.  I could feel the pain in her heart, and hear the agony in her cries when she picked up some of the ashes of her newborn daughter and put them in a tube so that she could keep her with her.  She hasn’t been the same Kali I know since that day, but I did see the light in her eyes when she got done having Hope and held her in her arms.  She’s a strong, courageous leader, and there’s not a single doubt in my mind that she takes after her father.  She is definitely _your_ daughter – your princess, and while I _am_ sorry that you weren’t there to witness the rise of a true warrior, I am also _thankful_ that you did what you did.  Never in my life did I plan on having children, but when I raised her, she became like my own, and there’s absolutely nothing that I wouldn’t do for her.”

    “If he was still alive, I’d rip his damn head off,” King Vegeta said as his anger within him dwelled.  “She’s a royal family member – _my_ daughter.  And he kept her locked in a small prison as a room.  Disgraceful.  She doesn’t deserve any of that.  How could a man _kill_ his own daughter?  I had a hard enough time sending her away, and then he preaches how horrible the Saiyans are, which may be true, but at least I don’t have my daughter’s blood on my hands.”

“He’ll get what he deserves,” Lenora assured him as turned towards the Saiyan father and placed her right hand on his right shoulder.  “I promise.”    

“I appreciate what you did for her,” he said as he composed himself.  “She probably wouldn’t have made it very long if you hadn’t.”

“Yeah,” she smiled as she looked in his brown eyes.  “I enjoyed raising and training her.  She really is like a daughter to me, but you have that blood connection with her which is something that I’ll never have, unfortunately.”

“That doesn’t mean that you can’t have it with _someone_ ,” King Vegeta replied.  “I’ve seen some strange things in my time, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Gods and Goddesses can have children.”

Lenora chuckled.  “I’ve never known of one having a child with a mortal,” she said.  “The only God that I would be compatible with would be Axmir because of his dark energy being drawn to my light energy and vice versa, but he’s my twin brother, so biologically, that can’t happen.”

“Well,” King Vegeta smirked as he placed his right hand on the back of her head, “didn’t you say that _I_ have dark energy?”

Suddenly, Lenora became breathless as he moved in closer to her.  “Yes, but you’re a mortal,” she said as she tried to catch her breath while he kissed up and down her neck.  “You’re not a God – it’s wouldn’t work.”

“Well, then we’ll just have a good time, won’t we?”  He smirked as he placed his forehead against her’s, and soon, his smirk was met with her smile.

“I’ve never done this,” she said quietly as the Saiyan King started to undo the thin straps on her Goddess-like dress.  “I’m a goddess, I’ve never -,”

“I’ll take care of you,” he told her as he slid her straps down, exposed her top half, and laid her down on the twin sized bed and held his body above her.  “If you want me to, that is,” he added.

“Promise?”  She asked as she pulled him down so that his face was almost touching her’s.

“You have my word,” he said as he placed his bearded lips on her smooth, light purple ones and ran his fingers through her curly, dark blue hair.  

 

…

 

    Far away from the underground hideout, Gohan was coming up on the hidden weapons cache.  

     _Finally,_ he thought as he ran through the tunnels and began to see signs that pointed to the guards’ check in station.  _Alright, time to fake it,_ he told himself as he reached into the front pocket of the stolen guard’s uniform and grab a swipe card.  Once he came across the gate, he swiped the card, and with no problem, he gained entry to the area with her weapons.  As he walked down a long hallway, he came across a bullet proof, sliding glass door, and when he looked inside, he saw the plethora of weapons to choose from.  _Wow,_ he thought as he looked at the stories of weapons.  Everything was in there – from short range weapons to snipers that could aim across the planet.  There was an entire section off to the right that was specifically for knives and daggers, there was a section to the left for handguns, and the weapons that lined the several stories ranged from shotguns, assault rifles, to sniper rifles.  Again, Gohan used the stolen keycard and swiped it so that he could gain entry into the room, and like before it worked.  _Okay, I don’t have much time,_ he said to himself as he scurried around and grabbed what he could.  On his back, he threw a sniper and a bow and arrow set on, in his pockets, he put knifes and extra ammunition, and in each hand, he carried a handgun.  _I hope this is enough,_ he thought.  _This is about all I can carry._

“There he is!”  A guard unexpectedly shouted from the sliding glass door as he pointed his rifle at the thieving Saiyan.  “Get him!”  Suddenly, Gohan found himself trapped in the large weapons cache and unable to do anything.  _I can’t drop the guns in my hands to shoot an energy blast at them because Clara needs them.  However, it seems like I’ve already drawn attention.  I have to get out of here and take what I can to her._ Without a second thought, Gohan threw the handguns up in the air and fired a giant energy blast at the guards that were blocking his way out.  As the guns came back down, he caught them and quickly began flying back to the hideout with guards in tow.  _I have to outrun them,_ he told himself as they fired at him and he dodged the bullets.  _They’re the Royal Military – it won’t be hard for them to hit me if they decide to use and energy blast.  Come on Gohan, hurry up._

As the small room that King Vegeta and Lenora had escaped to filled with steam and the smell of sweat, everyone except for one person seemed to be oblivious to the events that had just unfolded an hour earlier.

    “So,” King Vegeta began with a smile on his face as he sat at the foot of the bed while the still-naked Lenora stayed lying down, “did you enjoy yourself?”

    “Absolutely,” she moaned as she sat up and began getting dressed.  “We should probably go back out there before anyone notices how long we’ve been gone.”  However, Lenora had spoken a tad bit too late.

    “You have _got_ to be kidding me,” Vegeta quietly hissed from outside the door.  “Really?!  You couldn’t keep it in your pants?!”

“Hurry up,” King Vegeta mouthed to Lenora as she finished getting dressed and putting her hair back up.  Once she finished, he opened the door to see his son standing outside the door with his arms crossed.  “Hi, son,” he said.

“Disgusting,” he scoffed as the smell of the sweat hit him.  “Couldn’t you have at least done that later?”

“ _You_ don’t give _me_ orders,” King Vegeta said as he pushed past his son and made his way back over to the fire where everyone had fallen asleep.

“I’m sorry, Prince Vegeta,” Lenora said, sounding embarrassed.  And quickly, she too made her way to the fire and sat down across from the Saiyan King.  In a flash, Gohan came busting in and woke everyone who was asleep up.

    “Military,” he said as he tried to catch his breath.  “The Royal Military - the caught me.”

    “What?!  How?!”  Clara demanded to know as she shot up from Goku’s lap.  “What did you do?!”

“Nothing,” he said as he threw Clara her weapons.  “I don’t know how they caught me.”

“Dammit,” she scoffed.  Instantly, everyone prepared themselves from the battle that wasn’t starting out their way.  

    “Here you are, Miss Kali,” the elderly woman said as she handed Clara her Queen-like outfit.  

“Thank you so much,” she smiled.  In a hurry, she slipped her new outfit over her black under clothing and instead of the gold and white that everyone was used to seeing her in, she now had a white and red vest, a red and blue cape, and blue boots.  “So, what do you guys think?”  She asked as she finished attaching the cape to her back and put her weapons on.  

“You look like a Saiyan Queen,” King Vegeta told her, sounding proud.

    “Wow,” Goku chuckled.  “You and your dad are wearing the same outfit pretty much.”

“Exactly,” she smirked.  “Time to go,” she said as she flew out of the sewer and out into the open - welcoming any and all challengers.


End file.
